My Life as a Teenaged Shinigami
by Typewriterman
Summary: At the age of fifteen a young Aiko Kurosaki learns the ins and outs...of being a soul reaper! [Sequel to Tide]
1. Summer

_...And I'd like to mention that thanks to Disclaimer Bot 57-0A63, I can't be sued for copyright infringement or anything similar to that. Why would people care that I'm using their characters for a fanfiction? I should've just bought a PS3 instead...they're cheaper..._

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**Summer**

_Towns are nice for the elderly, but definitely not so for the youthful. So, definitely not!_

"Aiko-nee-chan, are you saying that your beautiful Mother, Rukia-nee-chan…is old!?"

"What?" The raven haired girl took a second glance at her journal entry, but decided to stick with it. "Kon, you know what I mean…" Grabbing the excess fur of the stuffed lion plush on the back, she casually threw the talking doll across the room and continued writing.

"Ow, Aiko-nee-chan…why must you torture me so?" The yellow plush whined and strained as it attempted to climb back onto the bed. It's a pretty difficult task when you're only inches tall. And even more so when lack opposable thumbs.

"Well…you can always hang around _outside _my room…" The raven haired teen had already put away her journal, and was currently flipping through a magazine. Upon hearing the other option, the wily stuffed animal whined even louder and clung onto the human girl's arm.

"Please Aiko-onee-chan! You wouldn't throw me out there with _them_!?" A loud series of thumps pounded against the door, and two high pitched voices although muffled, carried through the solid object.

"Onee-chan!" One voice called out.

"Aiko-Onee-chan, have you seen Kon?" another asked.

"Aah! They're here for me!" the lion plush panicked and jumped into the safest place he could think of.

"Oi!!" the teenager yelped out and grabbed after the possessed toy that had just jumped into her shirt. As she did so, she jumped off of her bed and angrily stomped towards the door. After mere minutes of shuffling her hand within her shirt, Aiko managed to grab onto the toy and opened her bedroom door. Two incredibly cute pairs of eyes looked up with increased happiness and bulged at the sight of their older sister. More so when they saw the dangling yellow lion held out in her hand.

"Kon!" They both cheered.

"Nee-chan? What happened to our deal!?" The plush screamed out as he was slowly lowered to the children's grabby hands.

"You promised _me _never to do that again, remember? Besides…I think its cold of you to keep Kai and Hisana Demon Searching while you're cozy up here." When her hand was low enough for them to jump up, the two kids easily grabbed onto the toy and began running after each other and fought over possession.

"O…nee…chan!!" Kon's voice screamed out pathetically down the hall. The teenager however, simply waved at the cute sight of her happy siblings and walked back into her room.

Of all the things that were boring during summer break in a small town, nothing was worse than spending a _night _during summer break in a small town. Sure, several classmates had called during the day, wanting to watch fireflies, or go camping, or worse…stand around and…chill.

"I'm…bored!" The raven haired teen lazed around on the downstairs couch. "Why isn't there anything to do?" she rolled around on the couch, as if to spark her muse. The front door squeaked open, although it did nothing to move her. The soft pressing of the rug grew louder, like that of a burglar. "Hey Yutaka." She said, bored.

"No its not…I'm a burglar!"

A salty scent was floating around the room, and Aiko sniffed the air. "Hmmm…if you were a burglar, why would you be walking around with a bag of fried foods?"

"Ah….I give up." The older man chuckled to himself. His shoes clacked onto the hardwood floor and left towards the kitchen.

"Where's mom?" She called to the other room.

"She's just closing up the store. She'll be back soon! Say, you want to sneak some bites before she gets home?" Aiko rolled over so she sat normally on the couch, and was more than ready to join him, but her cell phone suddenly started to ring. "Aiko, what was that?"

"Nothing!" She responded "Uh, Yutaka…I'll have to get a rain check for that offer!" Aiko nervously set the device to vibrate, and rushed upstairs towards her room.

A sudden thumping of footsteps caught the old man's attention and he looked up at the staircase with a piece of fried chicken skin hanging out of his mouth. "Hmm?"

Rushing into her room, Aiko immediately made sure to close the door and lock it. Hearing the click of the lock, she ran over to her bed and reached under it. "Aha!" she finally pulled out a small shoebox through the bed sheets, and eager tossed away the box top.

"Aiko-nee-chan!" The familiar squeal of the plushy toy caught her attention. Kon fell from the ceiling onto the ground with a squeak, apparently from hiding on the top shelf.

"Wait…even better!" She quickly shoved the box top and box itself under the bed, and dove at the high pitched lion. It vainly attempted to escape her grasp, but was no challenge against Aiko prodding her fingers into his mouth. Muffled mumbling and screaming escaped his cotton lips, but instantly ceased when she extracted a small green pellet. The doll itself became lifeless, and its writhing limbs went limp.

Without hesitation, Aiko threw the green pellet into her mouth, and coughed violently. "Nee-chan!" she suddenly screamed, and she looked around the room in confusion. "Eh? Nani?"

"Alright Kon…you stay out of trouble, don't do anything perverse, and I'll grant you immunity from Kai and Hisana…deal?" The wide eyed girl looked behind her to find a black robbed girl waving her index finger authoritatively.

"Nee-chan?"

"I'm serious, Kon. You do anything while in my body…and you _will _suffer the consequences…ok?" The possessed girl nodded in fear of the black kimono dressed twin, one reason being the sheathed Zanpakuto readily available to all Shinigami.

"Well, have fun eating greasy food! I'll try to be back home before mom does!" The black garbed Aiko chirped. Opening a window, she jumped out of her second story room and landed with ease on the lawn below. Taking out her cell phone, she used it as a GPS to locate the target. It instantly began to beep, and a red dot blipped at a regular rate on the screen. "There you are…" She smiled, and Aiko bounded off towards the small downtown area.

In the dark depths of an alleyway, a blue tinted spirit panted as he tried to hide from his pursuer. He ended up in a dead end, and he swirled around to find the dark clothed hunter close off the only venue of escape. "Please…please, don't hurt me!"

"C'mon, I wouldn't do something like that!" Aiko smiled and couldn't help but laugh at the cowardly display. Reaching to her sheathed sword, she drew the metal bladed weapon, eliciting a wail of fear from the spirit. "Geez…calm down…" She sighed out, and turned the sword over so the hilt was pointed down. Lightly stamping the spirit's forehead, the blue tinted man changed from cowering in fear, to relaxed and content.

"See, isn't that better?"

"Yeah…yeah, it is…Arigato!" the man shouted happily as he faded out of view. Only a sole butterfly lingered in his spot, and fluttered towards the moonlit night sky.

"Excuse me, is anyone there?" A female voice called out from the alley entrance. A small dark haired woman, carrying a potted plant peered around the dark alleyway suspiciously.

_Mom!? _Aiko's inner voice shouted and she jumped straight for the rooftops.

Finally arriving home after a long day at the flower shop, Rukia Kurosaki sighed in relief and eagerly threw away her shoes. She placed the lonely, unsold potted plant on the coffee table and plopped herself onto the living room couch. "Hey Yutaka, how were the kids?" She asked tiredly

"Mommy!" A young girl's voice joyfully screamed out loud

"Mom!" A young boy's voice boomed right behind her. They each tackled the raven haired woman and both attempted to keep her attention with their own stories of how their day was. She just barely managed to stand up with her two kids clinging onto her arms.

"Hey Aiko, come on down, dinner's ready! Aiko?"

"Aiko-nee-chan hasn't been outside her room in forver!"

"And she's been playing with Kon for forever too!"

"Really?" Suspicious of what was going on; Rukia soothed down the kids and slapped each of their butts. Squealing and laughing, the two kids ran into the kitchen, where Yutaka would have to deal with their mischief.

"Aiko?" Rukia knocked on her daughter's door, hoping to speak to her after a long day at work.

The knocks surprised the Kon-possessed girl, and he opened her mouth to answer back. Of course, he knew that with his luck, Rukia-nee-chan would no doubt recognize the imposter. The knocking scared him even more and Kon was nervous enough to answer the woman's questions.

"Psst." A voice whispered from the window sill.

"Aiko-nee-chan?" Turning towards the voice, Kon felt a punch to the gut when the young girl shoved her way back into her body. Spitting out the green pill, Aiko instantly shoved it into the doll's mouth. The door had just unlocked from the key kept in the door-alcove and upon opening the door, a light thump thundered against the other side.

"Aiko, what was that?" Rukia asked the wide smiling teen.

"…nothing mom!" She lightly fibbed. She was laying on her bed, reading a magazine upside down. Aiko just barely realized this, and quickly rotated it so the magazine was sideways. "So uh, dinner ready?" Aiko pranced towards her mother, of whom she inherited most of her looks, and hugged her and pushed her out the door, closing it behind her. When the door closed, the lion plushy finally fell down onto the floor. Haven being smothered by the open door just previously, Kon's head was just slightly deformed and squished.

"Awww…" he whined to himself. He inhaled and shoved his little fuzzy finger into his mouth, popping his head back into shape. Climbing onto the bed, Kon scuttled towards the pillow, and reached under to pull out a tiny doll sized diary and pen. "I should've taken pictures…"

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**Some words from the Typewriter**

If you've read my previous Bleach story, then you're going to be in for a great surprise-I've improved my story telling skills, and I don't plan on jumping straight into the plot this time around. Lot's of thanks to anyone who reads this, and even more to those who review and critque to help me become better as time goes on.

**Fun Facts:** In Japan, the game of hide and seek is also known as Demon finding (or something that involves a demon) The demon is the one who's it and finds those who are hiding.

And now, legal blathering!!

_-Permission to produce this sequel to RadiantBeam's "What goes down must come up" series has been granted by...RadiantBeam...to Typewriterman_.

_-Rukia and Kon belong to Tite Kubo_

_-Aiko, Kai, Hisana, and Yutaka all belong to RadiantBeam_


	2. Beating the heat

_...And I'd like to mention that thanks to Disclaimer Bot 57-0A63, I can't be sued for copyright infringement or anything similar to that. Why would people care that I'm using their characters for a fanfiction? I should've just bought a PS3 instead...they're cheaper..._

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**Beating the Heat**

_The humid air, the salt sea breeze, and last but not least, the cold refreshing waves. Such are three of the most distinct characteristics of the beach. I'd mention the sand, but not everyone finds it as comfortable as Kon does…_

"Nee-chan, help me!" screamed the muffled voice from within the sand. The small lion plushy tried its best to pull his head out, but a small plastic pail was embedded right above him. "Nee-chan?"

Lazing on her beach towel, Aiko Kurosaki didn't even have to _try _to ignore the toy's pleas for help; the mp3 player was loud enough to screen the sounds anyways.

It was midsummer, and the head mother of the household, Rukia Kurosaki was more than excited to take a break from the flower shop for a week's worth of vacation. She had found that business was slow anyways, and her youngest children, Kai and Hisana, had grown bored of taking advantage of Yutaka's kind ways. Yutaka in turn, would rather deal with customers rather than be taken advantage by cute and hard-to-resist children.

"Mom, check this out!"

"Mom, look at me, look at me!!"

The raven haired woman was more than happy to watch her kid's daring feats, and laughed when both children tripped and enveloped by a small wave. Of course, one of the three was missing out on all the fun. Leaving the rambunctious nine and ten year olds to the care of the extended Kurosaki family, Rukia walked through the hot white sand to find her teenaged daughter.

The beach was a _lot _better than staying home, watching television, feeding Kon to the little lions…but the beach definitely wasn't as fun when all of your friends had different plans. Plans that didn't involve her. Instead of joining her family at the water's edge, where the aunts were being corralled by third and fourth graders, Aiko wanted this chance to catch a tan, before school started up again. Lying face up, the teenaged Kurosaki wore a pair of sunglasses to protect her eyes while the sun did its magic on the bare skin in-between her two piece bikini.

Of course it would be easy to do this, if her sun wasn't suddenly blocked. "There you are." The older Kurosaki woman sighed. "You know if you do that for too long, you'll look like a reverse panda bear." Opening an eye from within the sunglasses, the dark silhouette of her mother looked down with a smirk on her face. "Here, let me get some sunscreen on you before you dry up like a raisin."

Wading in the clear blue water, the veteran doctor kept watch on the Kurosaki household. His two daughters, Karin and Yuzu busily tending to both their own children, and their niece and nephews, while his two son-in-laws desperately tried to keep up with their respective wives. "What's this?" He spoke loudly to himself. Raising a pair of binoculars out of the water, he placed the eyepiece to see a pair of raven haired girls put lotion on each other. Excitedly, he took off for the sandy land.

"Such a beautiful sight. My dear daughter-in-law helping my granddaughter with putting on sunscreen! Such care for their health…I must help the-"

The idiotic screaming of Isshin Kurosaki, father to Ichigo, Karin and Yuzu, easily garnered the attention of Rukia and Aiko. When they saw him prance through the sand, and make a dive towards them, the two women immediately reacted in defense. "Aah…my son Ichigo, and daughter Karin have taught you well…" the man moaned in pain. A pair of feet had connected to his jaw, and the older Kurosaki couldn't help but to slump onto the sand in pain. Much to their surprise, the man jumped back onto his feet, and immediately gave them thumbs up. "I am honored to call you two Kurosakis!!"

A third raven haired woman approached her dear father from behind and instantly whapped him on the head with the blunt side of an imbedded beach umbrella. Upon impact, the man slumped onto the sand once again. "Why am I related to you?" Karin muttered to herself as she dragged the man back to the water's edge by his inner tube.

By noon, when more tourist and beach goes arrived, the Kurosaki clan gathered up their beach blankets to eat lunch. The squeals of the kids were isolated at the 'Kiddy Blanket' under several beach umbrellas, while the adults plus Aiko sat under one large umbrella. "So Aiko, aren't you cold just wearing that?" The blond haired Yuzu spoke out as she bottle fed her toddler. Unlike everyone else, Aiko was still in her two piece, haven been woken up just moments ago to eat.

"Yuzu, don't point that out…dad's still here." Karin angrily whispered to her sister.

"Don't do what?" Isshin mumbled with chicken in his mouth.

"Here Aiko, put this on." Rukia offered her daughter an oversized t-shirt from her large carrying bag. Upon putting it on, the woman all cooed at the sight.

"What?" Aiko stuttered out and looked down at the shirt. A giant caricature of Chappy Bunny winked back at her, as if to mock her directly. "Mom, I can't wear this!"

"Oh come now Aiko. You used to _love _Chappy Bunny as much as I do. As a matter of fact, I found Ichi hiding under the blankets when cleaning up your room."

"Stop embarrassing me mom, I'm turning _sixteen _soon!" A gentle hand rested on her shoulder, slightly calming down.

"That's right, my dear granddaughter will be sixteen soon!" Isshin whined, teary eyed.

"Just loosen up a bit Aiko. Before you know it, it'll be cold and you'll be stuck in school!"

_Before you know it, it'll be cold and you'll be stuck in school!_

The feel of a hand on her shoulder shocked Aiko up, and she yelped as she jerked her head back. Looking around her surroundings, several pairs of eyes stared at her as if she was crazy.

"Kurosaki-san, would _you _care to answer the problem on the board then?" A female voice asked her from the front of the room. Standing in front of a chalkboard, Minori Ochi-sensei stood, presenting the chalk for all to see.

"Heh?" Aiko did a double take of her surroundings, and after lightly pinching herself, finally realized that she wasn't hallucinating. She was in fact, in a classroom, surrounded by all of her classmates—people who already thought she was weird enough in the first place. Apparently they can't see spirits like she claimed often.

"Aiko-chan, did you fall asleep again?" A light skinned brunette asked her on her right, smiling at her friend's situation.

"Fall…asleep?" Aiko murmured to herself. "Uh, Emi-chan, what month is it?"

"It's February. Right?" the uniformed girl answered, albeit confused by the question.

"Oh No!!" the raven haired teen whined. She slammed her head on her desk, ignoring the blunt feel of the desk against her forehead. Jumping onto her feet, she acted out what most would be envious of as natural acting skills. "**Summer's over already**!?"

Sitting at the back of the class, a maroon haired girl glanced up from her book and watched Aiko Kurosaki's latest in loudmouthed exploits. She adjusted her glasses and watched as the raven haired girl continued her acts of attention grabbing with apathy. "Such a drama queen…" She scoffed, and returned to her novel.

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**Some words from the Typewriter**

It's good to take a vacation after only one chapter, isn't it? Anyways, I really only have two words to use for this chapter: "FAN SERVICE!" It's not much, but its good enough for the second chapter, isn't it?

I'm happy that Aiko is so comfortable with the Kurosaki clan. Still, there's one question that you're really wondering..."Where the heck is Ichigo!?" Well, if you didn't know, Ichigo is really busy with his high paying job. If you're patient enough, he'll make his appearance next chapter. Let's just say, that he's just _too_ good a doctor for his own liking...

_And now, legal blabber!!_

_-_Rukia, Yuzu, Karin, Isshin and Kon all belong to Tite Kubo. The husbands (though not mentioned directly) belong to Kubo-sama too

-Aiko, Kai, Hisashi, Yutaka all belong to **RadiantBeam**

-Emi(ko) is an OC of **Typewriterman** (and I guess Minori Ochi, too. Does her last name sound familiar? If not, you don't pay attention to the manga enough!)


	3. Doctor Kurosaki

_...And I'd like to mention that thanks to Disclaimer Bot 57-0A63, I can't be sued for copyright infringement or anything similar to that. Why would people care that I'm using their characters for a fanfiction? I should've just bought a PS3 instead...they're cheaper..._

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**Doctor Kurosaki**

_It's funny, how it's possible for one to become sick of medicine…_

Piles of folders and books had been piled perilously on top of each other, forming several fragile towers on the desk. It was a miracle that he could even tell it _was _a desk, with several smaller piles of papers strewn about the top. It's been days since he's last seen any brown of the office table. He could've sworn that it was made out of charts and forms, rather than the sturdy oak of a strong and proud tree. In actuality, about a third of the paperwork was unnecessary; it was the hospital's policy to hand everything in triplicate.

Knowing this, the good doctor always had enough to create a crumply pillow, specifically for those late nights in the office. It didn't matter much that he often drooled in his sleep, he could just find a good copy and use the wondrous computer to do the rest.

The office door creaked open, bathing a sleeping strawberry haired man with a sliver of light.

"Kurosaki-sensei?" A woman whispered, "Are you awake?" A loud snore answered her question, followed by a smack and a scream.

"Oi, who did that!?" the white coated man jerked up in his seat. He rubbed the back of his head, more from surprise rather than from pain. It didn't hurt to be smacked by a rolled up magazine.

"Kurosaki-sensei, what are you doing sleeping?" Blurry eyes focused on the silhouetted figure standing before him, swinging the rolled up object to accentuate her tone.

"I was tired…I thought sleep would help me with that…" he answered groggily voice answered. He received another smack from the newspaper, but it was more of a tap on the crown of his head. "And stop calling me that…you know my first name, don't you?"

"Hai, hai _Ichigo_-sensei." The woman responded annoyed. She peeled off a piece of paper stuck on his face and giggled as some of the ink was imprinted on his cheek. "Now come on, you'll be late for your lecture." The all too familiar sound of a mug thumped on the paper covered desk, and the fresh aroma of coffee filtered into his nostrils.

The bright halogen bulbs of the office lights suddenly turned on, just as the man had been staring up at the previously dark ceiling.

"Aiya! I told you to warn me before you did that, Nozomi-bozu!!"

Starkly different from the small office, the university lecture hall had always been an uncomfortable place for Ichigo Kurosaki. To many people's surprise, public speaking is in the top ten of greatest fears. It made sense though; it takes a lot of practice, even if you have a gift for it. For Ichigo however, he couldn't care less about people's 'fear' with it.

It was more of a comfort thing, really. All of those beady eyes staring as he explained techniques, the combined sound of scratching pens and pencils on paper. What was worse was the constant flow of stupid questions about simple problems that they would always ask. After a while, he just gave up. He became a doctor to help people, not stand around and talk.

"Are there any more questions?" The red headed teacher's aid spoke confidently into the microphone. "Alright, if not, I hope you guys have a good weekend." The thundering of seats relapsing filed the auditorium sized lecture hall, and the large wave of uniformed students made their way up the stairs. A small group of six to seven students always came down for individual questions, but the other TA's were able to answer their queries.

Striding over to the seated strawberry haired professor, she reclined on the adjacent chair. Opening the small fridge from behind the podium, she more than happily opened the can taken out and gulped the drink down. "Yatta!" she sighed out. "Such dry material today, eh Kurosaki-sensei?"

"That's why I hate teaching this stuff myself. Plus, it's good to give you guys some teaching experience." Wearing a lab coat, Ichigo had rested his shoeless feet on the desk provided.

"Ichigo-san, you should really try getting more interested with your job. What's the point of working here, if you're so bored all the time?"

"Nozomi, that's a loaded question." The red head looked towards her friend, confused by his choice of words. He sighed and rested his hands behind his head. Reclining even further in his chair, he balanced on the two rear legs as his feet rested on the tabletop. "The reason I caved into my dad's proposals is because of how he presented it to me. At the clinic, I felt like I was doing a lot to help people, but after a while, I didn't think I was doing enough."

"Awww, that's _so _altruistic of you!"

"Shut up moron, I'm also doing this for my kids."

"Eh…but isn't _that _good too?"

"Don't you know the University's admission policy? Students who are accepted are granted free admission if they're related to a faculty member." Ichigo pinched his chin and smirked, but caught himself seconds into the motion. _Damn you old man…I'll get you back for causing this habit in me…_ He scowled suddenly, and slouched back into his chair.

"Oh…so you're just a cheapskate, huh?" This caught him off guard, and he nearly lost his balance. Swinging his arms the opposite way, he frantically latched onto anything that would keep him from falling. He successively staved off falling backward after grabbing onto the something soft and warm with his right hand. Pushing off the object so that the chair landed back on its four feet, Ichigo hopped onto his own and saw the timid emotion of his red headed TA.

"Oh Kurosaki-sensei, I'm a married woman! How could you?

"N…nani?" Ichigo exclaimed. "What are you talking about?" The young woman stood up and leaned close to his ear.

"I'm…telling…_Rukia…"_ She whispered and she rushed towards the faculty lecture hall exit.

"W-wait!!" He exclaimed again and took off after her. Pushing back the doors, he tore down the small corridor and made a right turn. Nozomi's back came into view as she bounded through the door at the end of the hallway. Slamming the door in his face, Ichigo panicked to what was happening.

"Nozomi!" After several attempts, he finally managed to open the door and rushed into his office. A phone was shoved into his face as soon as he entered, and the red head wore a mischievous look on her face.

"Here _Ichigo_-bozu…it's ringing." Taking the phone shoved against his ear, the dial tone repeated its sequence. "Tell her I said hi, okay?" Nozomi casually said and she walked out of the office, calmly closing the door behind her.

Annoyed upon realizing her prank, Ichigo couldn't help but chuckle a bit as well. She was always looking out for him and Rukia. The receiver clicked in his ear, and ruffling sounds reverberated against his ear drum.

"Mushi mushi." The woman on the other line greeted. Ichigo's heart jumped at the mere sound of her soft voice.

"Hey..." Was all he said. It was all he could think of at the moment. The other line was quiet for a few seconds, save for more ruffling against the receiver.

"...Hey."

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**Some notes from the Typewriter**

It's come to my attention, this really sweet Bleach x Avatar crossover by a fellow fanficer, Bronx Shogun. His story's called "Soul Reaper Katara", and should definitely check it out. Of course, I'm not saying this ouf of _any _bias whatsoever! ...maybe a little

Tell me what you think of the story, and honestly give me some suggestions for future chapters! I'd love to hear what you've got!

**Fun Facts: -**the title of _sensei _is used for teachers, doctors, or masters of any profession or art.

-b_ozu_ is similar to the English term "kid" or "squirt".

And now,_ **legal blubbety!**_

-Nozomi belongs to RadiantBeam (check out RB's really nice AU fic!)

-Ichigo and Rukia belong to Tite Kubo (check out his pretty cool story...I think it's called _Bleach _or something...)


	4. School and Shinigamis don't mix

_...And I'd like to mention that thanks to Disclaimer Bot 57-0A63, I can't be sued for copyright infringement or anything similar to that. Why would people care that I'm using their characters for a fanfiction? I should've just bought a PS3 instead...they're cheaper..._

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School and Shinigamis don't mix

_Alright, I'll admit it…I don't like school very much…_

"Of all the things that we have to learn so early in the morning…I shall seek your destruction…geometry!" Aiko grumbled at her seat. Despite nearly whispering her complaint, Ochi-sensei was _still _somehow able to hear it.

"Why, Kurosaki-san! You're volunteering again? Well please, go right ahead!" The teacher said sweetly. Groaning even more, the raven haired teen hesitantly left her uncomfortable desk towards the blackboard. Taking the chalk from the teacher's hand, she lazily wrote the answer to the question. "That's correct Kurosaki-san…three-fourths pi." As Ochi-sensei droned on how to find the answer, Aiko meandered back to her desk; bored.

"Wow…that's harsh, Aiko-chan."

"Hmmm?" Aiko sounded out, too bored out of her mind to answer with anything more than one syllable. She tried her best to sit straight in her desk, but she was slowly losing the battle to slump in her seat.

"Called up to 'volunteer' six times in a row? At least you get them right." Emiko Arisawa whispered loudly. Her mother was a close family friend to the Kurosakis since their grade school, making the daughter a perfect candidate for a friend for Aiko. "How are you able to answer so fast, anyways?"

"Well, I don't mean to brag-" Aiko started to brag, but a student's arm caught the attention of the teacher.

"Uh, yes?" The young teacher pointed towards the back of the room.

"I believe that these exercise questions aren't in our best interests, Ochi-sensei." The soft, yet outspoken voice garnered all eyes towards the back of the room, the students wide eyed at that situation.

"W-what do you mean by that?" The teacher nervously asked.

"Well, I was searching through the textbook when I found that so far, all of the questions have been example questions from each section. The textbook provides the answers as well". Everyone who hadn't already, flipped open their own textbook in search of the fabled questions. The teacher opened up her own faculty copy, and gasped at the find.

"Oh well, I guess you're right." She laughed embarrassed. "I thought those questions seemed so familiar! Thank you very much, Setsuko-kun." Ochi-sensei immediately moved to wipe the board with the eraser amongst a classroom full of student made groans.

Aiko specifically swirled her head towards the back of the room, slightly ticked off at the fact that her so-called secret was now…no longer one. A maroon haired girl with glasses returned to her seat, and immediately began reading a book. It was a novel that was obviously not related to geometry.

"Hey Emi-chan, who's that?" Aiko turned to face the front again.

"Who, Set-chan? She's been here since the beginning of the year, Aiko-chan."

"Really? Huh…" Aiko moped and quietly returned to doodling in her notebook.

"Really _what,_ Kurosaki-san? Thank you for volunteering; I know you can solve this new equation just as easily as the other ones." Upon looking at the blackboard, Aiko groaned in anguish. The new problem…took up the entire blackboard.

"Today…was just _horrible!" _Aiko whined. The final bell had rung just minutes ago, and most of the students had already left for home. Reaching the sidewalk, the raven haired girl and her friend made a left immediately after the school gates. Aiko slumped as she walked, and the brunette chuckled while patting her back in an attempt to cheer her up. "…I got bruised up in gym, I did homework that was suddenly made due tomorrow, Ochi-sensei is still mad at me for hitting my bike into her car…my legs are tired from walking back and forth from the blackboard…And it's all because of that Setsuko…whatever her last name is."

"What _about _me, Kurosaki?"

"Heh?" the girl in question had been walking right behind them, and currently scowling through her maroon bangs. Aiko returned the sentiment, not wanting to be out scowled, and angry at how her day went. "Yeah, what about _you, _Setusko-_san_? And where do you get off at not adding an honorific? I don't remember us being familiar!"

"Now, now Aiko-chan. Setsuko-chan was just trying to help us with our grades in the future!" Emiko nervously attempted to create a peace between the two.

"I'd have a battle of wits with you, but it seems that you came unarmed." The maroon haired girl responded and adjusted her glasses with a finger. She calmly walked between the two taller girls, while Emiko jumped to restrain her friend.

"Hold on Aiko-chan! You wouldn't hit a ten year old, would you?" Emiko blurted out while straining against a fidgeting Aiko.

The wild girl instantly halted, and stared in wonder at the other walking away. "Wait up, she's ten!?"

"You have a problem with that, Kurosaki?" the girl said as she continued walking. "You're older than me by five years, and I _still_ have better grades than you…"

"I don't care about that! You should be calling me _Sempai_ you crazy girl!" Setsuko ignored Aiko's frantic shouting, and continued walking down the sidewalk. "Oooooh…" Aiko clenched her fist and shook it furiously in the air. Emiko could only laugh lightly as she rubbed the back of her head.

At a small flower shop, a raven haired woman managed to work the cashier for a customer while holding a phone between her head and shoulder. "So, how's my little lady?" the voice asked from earpiece. Rukia was unable to hold back her laughter at the corny line. She honestly didn't know whether to play along or just insult him.

"Well, I miss you a lot if that's what you want to hear." She twirled the phone cord with her finger childishly, and sat on the counter next to the cash register. "But if you ever decide to come back from Tokyo, I'd be able to show you just how _much_ I miss you…" Rukia made sure to make her voice as sultry as possible, as she leaned back against the counter.

"Really now? Now that I think of it, I think I have a break this coming weekend…" The voice on the other line sounded more eager than her wanted to be. Rukia caught this, and laughed seductively into the phone.

"Oh Ichigo…I know something _you _don't…" She chuckled to herself. Still lying on top of the counter, she drooped her head over the edge and opened her dark violet eyes…to find a mother and son staring at her. She stared silently at the wide eyed, gaping mouthed customers, and they returned the sentiment. Realizing her position, Rukia yelped in surprise, jumped back to her feet embarrassed, and made sure they didn't see her hand creeping up her skirt.

"Rukia?" The phone asked.

"Oh uh, heheh… Irasshaimase! Did you find everything that you were looking for? Heh?" The mother cautiously handed over her money towards Rukia, and more than hurried out of the store. The young boy wondered why his mom left the potted plant on the counter, and grabbed it before he was dragged out of the store as well.

"Rukia?" Ichigo reclined in his office chair. The door suddenly began to creek open, and the professor jerked quickly to zip up his pants.

Nozomi poked her head through, but made sure not to walk in…or look at the strawberry haired man directly. "Oi Ichigo-san, your next lecture is starting soon…" Her head disappeared back out to the hallway, and the door closed as well.

"Uh, Rukia, I'm going to have to call back later…"

"Wait, Ichigo…there's something I have to talk to you about first…" The sound of concern in her voice worried him, and he knew that Nozomi and the other TAs could handle the class until he got there.

"What is it?" He sat back into his chair, and only tentatively placed his suitcase atop the paper encased table.

"It's about Aiko. I'm worried…"

* * *

**Some words from the Typewriter**

Just my luck...here I am having the time of my life writing this, and then I have this bomb drop in front of me. RadiantBeam's coming up with a sequel...now no one's going to read this story anymore!

Haha, lets see if I can play keep-up with whatever RB comes up with, huh?

**Fun Facts:** Irasshaimase means welcome (to the store)

_And now, Legal shtuff!_

-Aiko and Nozomi are characters created by _RadiantBeam_

-Emiko, Setsuko and Ochi-sensei are characters created by Typewriterman

-Everyone else shall belong to _**Tite Kubo**_


	5. Patrol

_...And I'd like to mention that thanks to Disclaimer Bot 57-0A63, I can't be sued for copyright infringement or anything similar to that. Why would people care that I'm using their characters for a fanfiction? I should've just bought a PS3 instead...they're cheaper..._**

* * *

**

**Patrol**

_At least I still have my night job…_

The sky was painted a majestic orange by the setting sun, soon to be eclipsed by the dark violet of the night sky. For a school night, Aiko Kurosaki found that she had the least homework all month. Well, considering the major exam coming up in a few days.

Still, Aiko wasn't one to let an opportunity go to waste. Taking the rare opportunity, she jumped from rooftop to rooftop, experiencing things that no human would ever get to. The black kimono fluttered in the wind as she whizzed through the night sky, continuously defying the established laws of physics. A faint vibration and ring caught her attention, and the raven haired girl halted atop a tall building.

She shuffled through the folds of her kimono, and extracted the reactive device and opened it. Her cell phone, unlike what other girls her age had, was unique. It wasn't a customized version, to say the least, but its functions were too powerful for something the size of a business card to have. It was able to detect spirits, and every now and then receive text messages that alerted the presence of a Hollow. She held it dear to her heart, because just two years ago on her birthday, she found a present under her bed. More of a box really, but inside was a strange badge, her cell phone, and a note.

"A Hollow, huh?" Placing the cell phone back into her kimono, she faced the direction of the town supermarket and leapt towards the street below. She landed on her feet with ease, and took off running down the road. She kept up her inhuman pace until the familiar blue tint disappeared into an alleyway, and Aiko ran straight towards it. She slowed down to a jog, and eventually to a walking speed, not wanting to scare the spirit with her sudden appearance.

"Hello, anyone there?" She hollowed rhetorically. A blue tinted light emanated from behind a garbage can, but Aiko made sure not to look to aggressive in approaching the spirit. "Hey there, I'm a friend."

A soft whimpering sound filtered into her ears, and soft cries of pain came from a similar source. Finally reaching the garbage cans, Aiko peered over towards a cowering bluish spirit. The man fidgeted suddenly, and he cowered away from her. "Oh geez…" Aiko sighed to herself. "Hey listen, I'm not going to hurt you." She displayed her open palms as a gesture of peace. "See?"

The man however, shuffled farther down into the alley, grunting fiercely and trembling. His arms were wrapped around his chest, as if harboring a wound. "You ok?" The man shook his head nervously, never looking at her directly.

"It…it hurts…" his trembling voice whispered. "Soon, it's going to start hurting again…"

"Well that's why I'm here. To help you go to a place where it doesn't hurt, ok?" Aiko calmly tried to assure the man. Trapped against a brick wall, the man went into a fetal position, in a vain attempt to still keep away from her. Strangely enough, he didn't just phase through the wall. It was as if he was solid. Aiko, moving as calmly as possible, slowly moved her hand down towards the sword at her side. The man caught this, and started to mutter in disapproval.

"Oh no, nuh uh!" he mumbled. "Don't do that…don't hurt me…"

"No! Have you ever heard of Soul Society? It's a good place. No pain, no worries…I'm just going to stamp your forehead with the hilt and you'll be on your way, ok?" Aiko slowly drew her sword, and the sliding metal sound elicited more panic from the man.

He suddenly screamed in pain, and clutched onto his chest reactively. Rolling around and writhing in pain, the man suddenly screamed again…only it was more of a devastating howl.

"What?" grabbed onto the sword's handle and rushed to stamp his forehead to ease his pain.

"NO! Stay back!" The man growled. He shot out his hand to keep her away, leaving the other to try to conceal his chain. The links were slowly devouring themselves, and that obviously caused intense pain to the man. "I…don't know what's going on…" he strained from resisting screaming again. Before she could do anything, the man's eyes went blank from pain, and his entire body involuntarily jerked. The last few inches of his chain soon disintegrated, and his chest began to collapse on himself.

"Hold on, I'll help you!" Aiko screamed and charged towards the man, but a dark aura exploded from the collapsed chest and soon enveloped the anguished spirit in a shield. "No!" she desperately struck at the aura with no effect. The bubble began to shrink, taking the spirit with it. "Damn it!" She yelled out, and she kicked a nearby garbage can in frustration. Her cell phone rang, and Aiko angrily fumbled to open it.

"What now?" She tried projecting her anger towards the cellular device, and read the text location of the Hollow. It was the same Hollow as the last message...only it was supposed to appear right in her area. "…Oh no…" Aiko leapt onto the rooftops and readied her Zanpakuto in her grip.

"I wished for Hollow activity, and now I got Hollow activity…" Aiko spoke out loud to psyche herself up. It would really be the first time she's ever fought a Hollow on her own. And despite her fighting experience, she was still a little green at the thought of it. An anguished howl sent a shiver up her spine, and the young Shinigami spun to deflect the beast's first attack. She managed to force it off of her with ease, and readied her blade for the next strike.

As expected, the white faced Hollow dove towards her, nails bared, and Aiko prepared to stab straight into its face, when she felt danger approaching from her blind spot. She jumped to the side, and out of the way to watch a bright white project pierce the Hollow's mask and travel straight through its body. The Hollow disintegrated before it even touched he roof top. "What?" Aiko panted out and she glanced to where the bolt came from.

The moonlight pierced through the dark of night, illuminating a figure standing on a nearby roof top, slightly one story higher. A second source of light shone through but slowly dissipated from view. Lowering her left arm, the maroon haired girl stared down in apathy at the raven haired girl. She pushed her glasses up her nose bridge with her finger, and stayed calm even after being spotted. She was still wearing her high school uniform.

Ichigo Kurosaki sat atop the podium table, happy that the lecture giving period of his day was finally through. As his TAs including Nozomi packed up to go to their respective residences, Ichigo stayed on top of the table, thinking about his earlier conversation with his wife.

"_It's about Aiko. I'm worried…"_

"_Well spill it Rukia, what are you worried about?" Ichigo asked her back over the phone._

"_I'm just not sure that you working in Tokyo is the best thing, Ichigo…"_

"_What are you talking about? It pays well, I have residency access to a major city hospital, and those who can't be helped, I can send to Sereitei. Plus, it's a perfect way of paying for Aiko's college tuition too!"_

"_Yes, those are all good things Ichigo, but what about Aiko's father?"_

"_Nani?"  
_

"_Sure she's going to have so much to thank you for in the future, but what about now? What about having her father here now?"_

"_I don't get you, Rukia."_

"_Aiko's been so alone lately. I'm always busy with the shop, Yutaka's busy with the kids _and _the shop…and Aiko goes out at night on weekends, or goes to her room early during the week."_

"_Well she has friends"_

"_She does, but…just please…just, try to find a way to visit as soon as you can, ok Ichigo?"_

"_A-alright Rukia. You know I love you, right?"_

"_You're such an idiot sometimes," She chuckled, "Thinking that I'd ever forget that…" _

"_Well you're an idiot for loving me back then"_

"…_you know that doesn't make any sense, right?"_

"Kurosaki, leave the Hollow exterminating to the professionals…" the maroon haired girl said calmly. Sheathing her blade and dusting herself off, Aiko scowled at the other girl.

"Hey squirt! What did I tell you earlier!? I'M….YOUR…SEMPAI!!"

* * *

**Some words from the Typewriter:**

Ok, that's wierd...what's Setsuko doing shooting up Hollows?

I'm updating twice this weekend, cause I'm going to be really busy with school this week. Be happy with this rare spike in updates, because its going to be a dry week for you guys. (And a chemistry filled one for me!)

**Fun Facts:** _Sempai_ is a way to address one's senior in a group or organization.

_And now, Legal Hababaloo!_

-Aiko, Nozomi and Yutaka are registered trademarks of the _RadiantBeam _organization

-Setsuko and Minori Ochi are copywrited by _Typewriterman_

-Ichigo and Rukia are inspired creations by _Tite Kubo_

-Tite Kubo belongs to everyone


	6. Three and Two

_...And I'd like to mention that thanks to Disclaimer Bot 57-0A63, I can't be sued for copyright infringement or anything similar to that. Why would people care that I'm using their characters for a fanfiction? I should've just bought a PS3 instead...they're cheaper..._

**

* * *

**

**Three Mothers and Two Doctors**

_Okay…the coincidences are just piling up right now…_

Sitting at a small dining room table, Rukia Kurosaki and an orange haired woman reminisced about the good old days. They could hardly restrain their laughter at all the weird moments, and compare shock value during the most awesome of fights.

"And so, Ichigo thought it was a…"

"Really? Ichigo-kun thought that? Hahaha!" Rukia stood up from the table, and left to refill the teapot.

"Husbands, huh?" the raven haired woman called from the kitchen, "What'll you do?"

"Yeah…"

"So, how _is _Uryu-san anyways?" The orange haired woman smiled and twiddled with her wedding ring, and just stared into space. "Uh, Orihime-chan?" Rukia waved in front of her friend's face until her dark grey eyes fluttered with movement.

"Oh sorry Rukia-chan, I was thinking about boxers…"

"Boxers?" Rukia asked confused as she poured fresh tea into their cups.

"Well, first I was thinking of something that happened when we were moving in, and Uryu dropped some boxes, and he hurt his toe. Of course, Boxers like to bite peoples' toes; which is why I wouldn't want such a big dog around my daughter. But a professional boxer would be able to protect her, and his gloves would so protect his fists from a dog's teeth!"

"Well uh…you thought a lot about it then Orihime-chan…speaking of which, how's Tatsuki-san and her daughter doing?" Rukia managed to take back her friend's attention toward the topic at hand, and the orange haired woman moped on the table.

"Tatsuki-chan's divorce will be finalized by the end of next week, but thanks to her jerk of an ex-husband, she and Emiko-chan have no where to go." She took a sip of her tea, and displayed the first sour look on her face that Rukia remembered seeing in a while. "I couldn't let her and Emiko-chan stay at a hotel, so I finally managed to have them take mine and Uryu's guest room."

"I see." Rukia nodded empathetically. "But didn't you and Uryu just move in a few weeks ago yourselves?"

"Mmhmm. But that's ok, we stayed at a hotel until the house was finally built!"

"Heh?" A knock at the front door alerted Rukia, and she excused herself to open it for the rest of the dinner guests. "Konbawa!" she greeted the three women and let them inside the house.

"How are you Tatsuki-san?" Rukia hugged the taller woman, and turned her attention to the smaller girls. "Konnichiwa, Emiko-chan? I think Aiko's sleeping upstairs in her room."

"Hmmm?" the maroon haired girl was intrigued.

"And you must be Setsuko-chan! Your mother's told me a _lot _about you, you know."

"Ohaiyo, Kurosaki-san." The small girl curtsied but kept her face plain from any emotion.

"Hi Setsuko! Mommy's here!" Orihime rushed in from the dining room and immediately picked her daughter up to hug her. "How was your trip here?"

"It was fine Orihime-chan." Tatsuki told her friend. "Of course, Setsuko disappeared for a bit, but she came back ok." She scratched her head in wonder and shrugged it off since her 'niece' had returned unhurt.

"Well, would you like to meet Kai and Hisana? They're about your age, you know?" The small girl adjusted her glasses and politely shook her head.

"Is there a place where I could read this, Kurosaki-san?" The maroon haired girl held up her small novel and awaited patiently for Rukia's answer. Rukia mean while looked up towards Orihime, and after receiving a nod of approval, escorted the girl to the couch and turned on the nearby lamp.

"She takes up a lot after Uryu…" Orihime admitted. All three women went to the dining room while Rukia returned from the kitchen with a third porcelain china cup.

"So Orihime-chan, you never _did _answer my question about Ishida-san…"

It was raining in Tokyo. Standing outside the campus bus station, a strawberry haired man waited for the next available bus to Karakura Town, and from there he could take a smaller bus home. It was chilly and cold and the rain didn't make hi scowl lift any more than usual.

"Oi, Kurosaki-sensei?" A man's voice called for him from behind. Turning around, Ichigo smiled at the blue haired man wearing glasses. "It's good to see you here."

"Wish I could say the same about you, Ishida-sensei." After minutes of staring at each other, the two men hugged and slapped each other's backs as they did so. "Ishida, how are you?"

"I'm good Ichigo-san. Thanks again for the recommendation. Of course, I don't owe you."

"What do you mean, you cheapskate, of course you owe me!"

"Well, I can always pull back to the good old days when I saved your butt every time, but I'm a gentleman."

"Whatever, Uryu-san…" Ichigo laughed at the man's surprisingly funny joke. "So, what sections are you teaching this semester?"

"All of the late night ones. And you?"

"Early morning ones on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Then there are the two afternoon sections every Tuesday and Thursday, plus I'm a resident at the hospital."

"Ok, ok, I owe you one then." Ishida admitted defeat.

"Damn straight." Sitting back down on the bench within the dry confines of the bus station, he sighed out loud. "You taking the weekend off to visit Orihime?"

"Actually, I'm taking the week off. Those are the benefits of teaching a half semester course. But they're _so _long!" The blue haired man managed to keep control of his tone.

"Really? How long?"

"Three hours. And I'm scheduled to do supplemental teachings over the weekends."

"Ok…maybe you _don't _owe me a whole lot…" Ichigo admitted.

The two men sat on the bench quietly, listening to the sounds made by the rain and wind. Coincidentally, they both drooped their heads and sighed loudly simultaneously.

The thumping of the stairs did nothing to distract the young girl from reading her book, as Rukia returned from putting her children to sleep. The young maroon haired girl paused at the end of the page and slowly eyed the drape covered windows. She could sense two figures, sitting outside the house. She couldn't tell if they were an immediate threat, but their presence was much to minute and controlled to be a simple Hollow.

"Amateurs…" She scoffed and returned to reading her novel.

* * *

**Some words from the Typewriter:**

Slower chapter, but I had fun thinking up things that Orihime might say...is that so wrong?

**Fun Facts:** The "Presence" that Setsuko notices is a reference to RadiantBeam's "Over and Over again" prologue. I had written this chapter before RB posted the official Sequel, and I want to see how much I could tweak it to have it fit somehow. I wonder if it does...

And now, legal documentation-to-provide-for-those-interested-of-which-character-is-owned-by-whom!

-Aiko and Nozomi belongs to _RadiantBeam_

-Setsuko Ishida created by _Typewriterman_

-Rukia, Ichigo, Uryu, Orihime, Tatsuki belong to _Tite Kubo_

But seriously though, I'd really like to thank all those who've reviewed, like-daydreamer97-TFKeyes-carmelcat12313-RadiantBeam

Danke!!


	7. A friend indeed

It's suddenly come to my attention that...I have...no...life...

**

* * *

**

**A friend indeed**

_Kurosaki, leave the Hollow exterminating to the professionals…_

"What the heck do you mean by that, squirt!?" Aiko was more confused than ever. "And what the heck was that that you shot!?"

Adjusting her glasses, Setsuko scowled at the taller girl. "As I said, Kurosaki…leave the fighting, to the Quincies…" With surprising agility, the small maroon haired girl jumped off of the roof and disappeared from sight. Even with her own speed, Aiko had no idea where the smaller girl had disappeared to, as she scanned the streets and alleys below.

"What…just happened?"

It was a weird night for the teenaged Shinigami, even with the concept of spirits and Hollows floating around. Aiko sighed as she arrived at her window sill, and clamored through as quietly as possible. Everything still seemed to be in order, and nothing seemed damaged at all. Her body was still under her sheets, appearing to look like she was sleeping. Of course if anyone went to check her pulse, they would be surprised to find a dead girl.

Sensing someone else's presence, Aiko drew her Zanpakuto and pointed it towards a dark corner of the room. Something moved in the darkness, and muffled cries and a soft crackle reacted. _Ok, Kon's still tied up… _Aiko thought to herself and slowly lowered her guard. A second presence alerted her, and she pointed her sword towards the area opposite her. A figure approached the moonlit area near the open window.

"Emi-chan?" Aiko whispered loudly, as the light skinned brunette came into view. Her hands up and palms shown in an act of surrender.

"Hai, Aiko-chan." The girl responded in a similar whisper

"What are you doing here?"

"Well, your mom said that you'd be sleeping, and when I found you weren't snoring as usual, I figured that you were out tonight." Emiko explained.

"Oh…" Aiko strolled over to the bed sheet covered form, and pushed into her own body. The black kimono gave way to a pair of white Chappy Bunny pajamas, and the sheathed sword disappeared from existence. Now sitting up in her bed, Aiko gave an involuntary yawn and jumped onto her feet towards her friend. "Well, I meant what you were doing in my _house._"

"My mom's had another late night job interview and to celebrate, Orihime-nee-sama brought me and Setsuko-chan over here to visit." Aiko was busily un-wrapping a roll's worth of duct tape from the restrained lion plush, but jerked the stripe violently off of Kon's mouth upon hearing the girl's name.

"What!?" she shrieked, just loud enough to shutout Kon's scream of pain. "What's _she _doing here?" Aiko subconsciously grabbed the little lion plush and began wringing him between oppositely twisting hands.

"Well, Setusuko-chan _is _Orihime-nee-sama's daughter…and my mom and I are living at their house until we can find our own place to stay." Emiko confided as she sat down on the messy bed. "And I think that my mom, her and your mom all knew each other when they were younger…"

"Oh…"

"Nee-chan…you're killing me!" Kon groaned out in fluffy pain. "And Orihime…nee-chan…I can sense her…valleys!" Irked, Aiko threw the plush against the opposite wall. She knew all too well what he meant whenever he mentioned 'valleys'.

Still sitting at the dining table, the three mothers were discussing about each other's children, namely Orihime's daughter was the current topic.

"…so that's what you meant…" Tatsuki took a sip of her second cup of sweet sake.

"I never knew that she was in high school already, Orihime-chan." Rukia, on her fourth cup, hasn't shown any signs of sake consumption…yet. "But still, it makes sense since Uryu-san's the father."

"What do you mean, Rukia-chan?" Orihime, one not to drink sake, was drinking her own substitute. A nice cold glass of milk…mixed with banana juice and tiny cubes of pickles…and crème de menthe.

"Orihime-chan…you were the valedictorian for our high school class! And Ishida's pretty smart too!" Tatsuki was a bit tired of her friends' obliviousness.

"And what are the chances, that all three of our daughters would know each other in school!" Rukia poured her sixth cup. "I'm getting the feeling that all three will be very good friends!"

Meanwhile, a small maroon haired girl had found her way to the second floor. Upon opening an arbitrary door, she found the raven haired teenager talking about her…negatively of course. "Oi, Kurosaki! Stop talking about me like that!" She burst through the door, and a small squeak sounded out when it slammed against the wall upon opening. "Hmmm?" The small girl ignored the teenagers for a moment, and closed the door behind her to investigate the sound.

Neither Aiko nor Emiko would never have expected what had happened, nor would they ever look at the 'child genius' the same way again. After a squeal of joy, and a squeak from the plush, Setsuko pounced on Kon and gave a squeeze that could crush bones. Good thing he was stuffed…

"Oh!!" Setsuko cried happily and she swung the toy around like…a ten year old.

Emiko cooed at the sight of the little girl, while Aiko smirked like mad. Reaching under her bed, she blindly looked for a small pouch. After one click and a flash, Setsuko immediately froze in terror and slowly turned her neck towards the two teenagers.

Her eyes went even wider when she spotted the disposable camera in Aiko's hands, and was caught in a second picture during her hesitation. "Aww, isn't that _cute_, Emi-chan?" Aiko mock-cooed.

"Oh yeah, I forgot that Set-chan _loves _lions!" Setsuko's eye twitched, and spontaneously, she dove towards the camera.

It was day once again, and in the busy time of the rush hour traffic, a middle aged man made his way towards the other side of the street for his lunch break. He was about five foot nine, with dark brown and confident eyes, dressed classily in a brown business suit. His hair was starting to show signs of graying, while his eyebrows and moustache managed to stay a keen and strong dark brown color. Despite the frequency of this lunch trip, the man would never arrive at his destination today.

An unseen force jabbed through his back, straight through his heart. He crumpled to the ground and astonished many people around him. For you see, no one knew that this man was stabbed. There were no signs of it, for example, like a stab wound, or any splattering of blood. To them, all they saw was a healthy looking man suddenly fall to the ground while clutching at his chest.

"Oi! Old man! Are you ok?" A lone bicyclist rode up to the man. To his amazement, the man's eyes shot open; they were a gleaming amber-brown hue and he grunted softly as he stood up. He brushed his suit over and began to walk away as if nothing happened, and the bicyclist was confused. "Hey old man, you should go to the hospital!" Being the Good Samaritan that he was, the bicyclist rode after the man, desperate to get him checked over.

Hearing the clicks of the bicycle, the man suddenly turned around and struck the bicyclist with two fingers. Tossed off of his bicycle, the younger man tumbled on the ground but stopped as if something was connected to his chest. Straining to stand up, the young man was confused as to why it was so hard to breathe. "What!?" He saw his body crumpled on the ground, and connected to his chest was a metal chain. Looking down to his own chest, he saw that the chain was latched onto him as well. "What…what did you do to me!?"

The old man smiled at the other's predicament, but his eyes were directed elsewhere. Looking where his glare was pointed to, the bicyclist's own eyes grew big with terror. Fear paralyzed him when he saw the monstrous beast standing behind him, but was too short of breath to scream. No one else paid attention to the beast…only to his crumpled form at his bicycle.

"Aniki…can I eat this one?" the beast's deep voice queried.

"Hai…" the old man responded, and he began to walk the opposite way down the street of Karakura Town. It _was _his lunch break after all…

* * *

**Some notes from the Typewriter**

And so...it begins...

**Fun Facts:**

-_Aniki _means big brother or superior (frequently used in Yakuza speech)

-I figured it out...from chapter six and on, this story takes place between the prologue of RadiantBeam's 'Over and Over again' fic, and ends just before chapter 1...heheh, I know loopholes...

Legal Stuff:

-Rukia, Orihime, Tatsuki and Kon all belong to _Tite Kubo_

-Aiko belongs to _RadiantBeam_

-Setsuko and Emiko belongs to me!


	8. Girls' day off

Girl's day off

_I wish **my**_ _dad would tell me stuff…_

It was school time once again, only today was…different. Not only was it a Friday, but many of the students of class 6-B entered to find a strange sight…

"For the last time squirt, I…said…no!" The raven haired teen tugged aggressively.

"I don't care! It's up to _him_ to decide!!" The maroon haired girl tugged with equal force.

"Aiko-chan, Set-chan, can't we all just get along?" A brunette teen attempted yet another pass at making amends between the two. "People are starting to watch…"

"Not until this _squirt _lets go!"

"…only if you do it first!" The two girls battled through scowls once again, and another round of tugging commenced. Between them, straining not to give away his identity, was a yellow lion plush groaning in pain as softly as he could. "Kon wants to come home with me!" Setsuko tugged once.

"Only because this pervy little doll wants to feel up your mom!"

"Kon wouldn't do something like that!"

"Who's Kon?" A male student asked the nervously smiling Emiko.

"Uh…I don't know?"

"Alright class will begin now!" The young Minori Ochi-sensei said. Reacting quickly, both girls let go of the plush to participate in the morning class activities—and not get into trouble with the teacher. For Kon, he got to experience what a slingshot felt like, and shot straight through the window pane of the second story window. "What was that!?" Ochi-sensei screamed out. She ran towards the now broken glass and stared at the jagged hole at the base of the pane.

"_She_ did it!!" Both girls reactively pointed to the other.

"OOOOoooohh!!" The small yellow plush screamed out. He had been flying for a few seconds now, and realized that he would soon drop onto the busy streets amongst the cars and trucks driving by. "Ohhhh….neeee…chaaaan!!"

With a squeak, he landed into a paper bag with curious accuracy. Now being carried across the street, Kon was too dizzy from his spinning airborne motion to realize where he was. The delivery boy likewise, who adjusted the suddenly heavier paper in his hand, was too oblivious as to what happened.

A white delivery boy's hat sat on his dark black hair, which was just long enough to cover his earlobes. He had a lost expression—maybe because he _was _lost—and he searched between his delivery order and the address numbers of the streets in confusion. A honk shocked him out of his stupor, and he just barely jumped out of the street away from an incoming car. Now panting on sidewalk, the delivery boy picked up the bag and carried on with his duty.

"Oh…I was supposed to go the other way…" he said to himself. The house numbers had been sequentially going down to twenty, while he was supposed to head towards the hundreds.

_Back at the convenience store..._

"Hanataro-kun! This is the third delivery in a row that we've had to make for free!"

"Gomenesai…" the delivery boy looked down, ashamed.

"Look, Hanataro-kun…" the manager tried to start off, "you've been a hard worker at this convenience store…in fact, you're the hardest that I've known! But to be honest, something always happens and…I'm going to have to put you on probation…sorry…" The delivery sadly grabbed took his hat off his head and clutched onto it pathetically. "Look, I'll put you on a paid vacation…just until it pays off all of the lost profits, ok? It'll only be a few weeks…"

"Hai…" the delivery boy tried to say with a half hearted smile. He turned towards the automatic doors when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Here, you can have this…you're paying for it anyways…" taking the brown paper bag, Hanataro Yamada was now temporarily jobless.

"Hmmm? What's this?" Sitting on a park bench, Hanataro decided to have some lunch. The first thing that he grabbed from the bag wasn't a bento box, but a yellow stuffed toy. "Where did you come from?"

"Kon!?"

"Kon-kun, where are you?" Two female voices called out from the park. Looking around, Hanataro couldn't see the owners of the voices, even though they were very near. Two heads popped out of the bushes on either side of him, scaring him to his feet. "Kon-kun!" A maroon haired girl yelled happily.

"There you are Kon…arigato onii-san." A raven haired girl approached Hanataro along with the smaller child.

"Oh, Rukia Kuchiki-sama! I didn't know you were here!"

"Kuchiki? Hey, that's my mom's maiden name!" Confused, the ex-delivery boy's grip was loose enough for Setsuko to grab the plush yellow doll. "Were you one of my Mom's classmates?"

"Mom?" Hanataro stuttered out. It took him a bit, but he remembered that Rukia was maybe two or three inches shorter...and that her hair wasn''t as long as this teenager's was.

"Yeah, a lot of people don't believe it. She looks young enough to pass as my sister, ne? Well that's what my dad always says." In the corner of her eye, Aiko saw her maroon haired rival take off with the small plush, and wanted to take off right after her. "Well, arigato gozaimase, onii-san!" And she chased after the other girl.

"Oi, Setsuko-san! Come back here!" Aiko ran through the forested park after the little girl. Her phone began to suddenly ring, causing a shiver to run down her spine. "Oh no…not now…" Finally catching up to the girl, she found that she too had felt a presence nearby.

"Here, Kurosaki…" Setsuko tossed the now flailing doll back to the taller teen, and reached her hand into her pocket.

"Nee-chan…it was horrible!" Kon started to wail, only to be shushed with a hand clamped over his mouth.

"Shush, Kon…" the small maroon haired girl took out a small cylindrical plastic pipe, decorated in weird crosses.

"Kurosaki, do you feel that?"

"Hai…" Ever since she could remember, Aiko was always able to see spirits. It was until the recent years though, that she was able to sense them as well. "It's nearby…" Without thinking, Aiko popped the green ball into her mouth and unsheathed her Zanpakuto once she was pushed out of her body. "Kon…I want you go home right away…understand?"

"Uh, hai nee-chan!!" The raven haired school girl held the lifeless plushy as tight as possible and made a startling leap out of the area.

Looking around them, the two girls cautiously stepped through the tree covered area. Looking towards the smaller girl, Aiko smirked at the small cylindrical object in her hand. "So what are you going to do squirt, whap the Hollow like it was a bad dog?" In response, two beams of light extended from either side of the stick and curved back towards each other at her wrist. After a few seconds, the light took the form of a bow, with her right hand ready to draw a nonexistent arrow.

"What are _you _going to do, stamp it on the head with your hilt?"

"Heh…" Aiko kept smirking. She adjusted her grip on her sword and reflected some sunlight with her sword to annoy the little girl's eyes. Her laughter though, was interrupted by a loud scream similar to that spirit just a few nights ago. "It's so…sad…" She commented

"It's in agony…that's why they devour souls, or so my dad told me…"

_I wish **my**_ _dad would tell me stuff… _Aiko huffed.

_

* * *

_

**Some words from the Typewriter**

Speaking of days off, my school actually had a snow day...Chem exam postponed!!

**Fun Facts:** Bento boxes are tasty, while onii-san can be used as a general term for a young male (usually a stranger) ...or so I've been told...

And now, _legal shtuffs_

-Aiko Kurosaki created by _RadiantBeam_

-Setsuko Ishida, Emiko Arisawa and Minori Ochi created by _Typewriterman _(with a little help from their parents, y'know? Wiki-wiki-wah!!)

-Hanataro Yamada, Rukia Kuchiki and Kon created by _Tite Kubo_


	9. War is fun

_(1)_ **RAT MORNING STAR!!!**

* * *

**War is fun**

"It's about time you got here…"

The metal café chair screeched against the concrete ground, and the brown suited man plopped onto the cushioned seat. He was more careful in bringing the chair back towards the table, and took effort to lift the chair in order not to cause more scraping.

"So, you have a thing for older men, then?" The woman sitting opposite of the man joked. Her large fashionable sunglasses did nothing to stave off attention from the men around her.

"I think they make me look distinguished." The brown suited man said as he began to read through the menu in front of him.

"So, where's the big guy?"

"Where's _your _partner?" the man counter-charged. His amber eyes did not rise from brushing through the delicacies presented within the menu.

"He's dead..." The woman replied sadly. She combed her well manicured hands through her wavy highlighted hair.

"You know who I mean…"

"Oh, _him_?" She began inspecting her long nails, and gave no excuse for her tone. "I sent him to buy me some more clothes from the store. And possibly some groceries too…"

"Hey, Aniki!!" a young voice called out from the café entrance. The leather dressed man walked happily through the crowded area between tables and rudely bumped diners as they tried to eat.

"Please, Mikio-kohai, calm yourself…"

"Gomen, Aniki." The young burly man took the third seat. "But I just get so hyper after I've just eaten."

"What happened to the body I picked for you, Mikio-kohai?" The brown suited man asked in a controlled unpleased tone. He also scratched his stubbly chin as he turned to the desserts page.

"Gomen, Aniki…but by the time I was finished eating, the ambulance came to pick up the body. Of course, I would've killed them all, but I remembered that you hadn't given the signal yet."

"Oh joy, he _can _remember things…" the woman sarcastically said. A waiter approached the three, and after giving their orders, the waiter left. "So, what's the plan, Kazuhiro-san? We're going to continue where they left off?"

"Ie, Suzume-san. We'll do nothing of the sort. My brother knew full well how powerful Kurosaki-san was…he was a fool who died a fool's death."

"So what then, Aniki?" The bulky man chomped on a piece of chicken that he had taken from another table. Tiny clumps of meat were all strewn about in his dark messy beard.

"Our primary mission now, is to collect information on our enemies." The three temporarily paused their discussion when the waiter returned with their orders. Before he left, the well dressed waiter eyed the bulky leather dressed man suspiciously, but didn't say a word. When they were sure that he had left, the three began to eat quietly.

"But why should we? That Hollow that we sent provided us with enough information on their fighting status." The woman said in between eating her pasta.

The brown suited man raised his amber eyes towards the woman and scowled quietly. "I thought that by mentioning my dear brother, I implied that that form of attitude will get you killed." The man gently cleaned his moustache of any remaining salad dressing, and moved on to his main course. "Besides, _our _target isn't Kurosaki-san."

"So, you mean we're going after his daughter?" The bulky man loudly slurped his soup.

"Ie, Mikio-kohai. But it wouldn't hurt to keep an eye on them. Either way, there are already a few others setting their sights on the Kurosakis…If it makes you feel any better, I've sent two or three more Hollows ahead of our arrival. I doubt that they will make our job any easier, but they will provide us with the information that we'll want." The brown suited man informed the others. He took a bite of his steak, and instantly began blowing air out of his mouth.

"Aniki, are you ok?"

"Whoo…_that's _hot!" He chirped happily and gulped a glassful of water.

"And how do you know _that, _Kazuhiro-san? About the others targeting the Kurosakis?" Still panting from his earlier guzzle, the man smiled and laughed nervously. Catching his actions, his face returned to a serious demeanor.

"I just do…" The man laughed nervously again, to the chagrin of the others. "And also, Sereitei will receive some _interesting _news soon…"

He bit into his steak again, smiling as his face reddened from the spicy sauce.

* * *

**Some words from the Typewriter:**

Plot Development!!

_Again, I really want to thank all of you who've read this story...I'm so happy!_

_(1)_ It's a VG Cats thing...

**Legal Stuff:** Ha! All three are my OC's!


	10. 1 & 0

_(1) _**D-CUPS**...full of _**justice!**_

**

* * *

**

**1 - 0**

_Ok, yeah…that doesn't look good…_

Although they had sensed it…no, expected it, the attacking Hollow still managed to take them off guard. For such a huge monstrosity, it was surprising how it just dropped in from the tree tops. Despite never really facing off against one, Aiko reactively guarded from the razor sharp talons with her Zanpakuto.

Before she could mark up her first kill, a bolt of light struck the beast, and dissipated it from existence.

"Hey! Kill-stealer!!" The small maroon haired girl ignored the teen's whines, and jumped away from a second Hollow's attacks. Without even trying, she turned in midair, and shot it right between its eyes.

"Not now Kurosaki!" Aiko grumbled from Setsuko's remark as she narrowly dodged a third Hollow's attacks.

"Whoa! I didn't even sense that one!!" She loped off its hand at the wrist, and jumped to the side as the Hollow attacked teeth first.

"They must have been suppressing their reiatsu." Setsuko shot a bolt into a third Hollow. "We've stumbled into a trap!" Aiko was too busy fighting off her opponent's teeth that she did not have enough room to maneuver away from its left claw. A bolt shot through its raised arm, giving the Shinigami a chance to slice through its blood red neck.

"Haha! I got one!!" She celebrated.

"Big deal…" Setusko shot yet another Hollow. "That's my fourth for the _day_." Behind her, the same Hollow angrily stood up, and prepared to swipe at the small girl. Even _she _was surprised when Aiko had crossed a distance of ten feet in the blink of an eye, and swiftly sliced the monster in twain.

"Oops…looks like its three to _two_ now…" Aiko mocked, and she blocked against another Hollow's claws.

Minutes had passed since the girls engaged in battle, and there was no end in sight of the Hollow horde. "This is ridiculous!! I actually probably killed up to ten of them, but they won't stop coming!" The two had retreated three times from three consecutive areas, in an attempt to take out the fastest before the slower ones caught up. "What's worse is that I think I lost count after eleven! They all look the same to me!!"

"They all look the same?" The young Quincy darted her eyes between the four Hollows quickly approaching them. "They _are _the same!" Halting in her tracks, Setsuko focused on the cylindrical pipe and aimed her bolt carefully. She actually ignored the first three to attack her, despite Aiko appearing to cut up two of them, but nothing happened.

The third Hollow's claws passed right through her, as if it was never there in the first place. The fourth Hollow ran towards them, and Setusko finally let loose her arrow. The beast attempted to dodge the bolt, but was soon struck by a second connecting with its ankle, and it collapsed into a roll on the ground.

"**Very good little girl…"** The Hollowed growled. It stood up despite its injury, and smiled its bleached face towards his opponents. **"How did you know?" **

"I know my colors." The girl replied and readied a third arrow. "Unlike all of the other Hollows, you were a much darker shade of red, and you had several distinct markings around your skin." The Hollow smiled another smile, genuinly impressed by her powers of observation, but disappeared out of sight only to reappear just inches away from her.

"**Well that's good, so** **I hope you like the color of blood!!" **Throwing its massive claw down towards the girl, the beast strained and groaned against something pushing back. **"What?" **Looking down, the raven haired teen was fighting a battle of mercy using her blade against his claw. He struck down with his other hand, only to have it blocked by the same blade. **"How can you be so fast!?" **

"I play video games…" Aiko replied, and smirked at her own witty remark. A glow brought the beast's unseen eyes even lower towards the ground, to see the small maroon haired girl armed with a glowing arrow. Without saying a thing, she shot point blank and pierced through its teeth. The arrow continued through the back of its head, and flew off into the sky like a missile.

Groaning, the Hollow slumped towards the ground, but dissipated before it dropped. The spluttering blood disappeared as well, just before splattering over the two girls.

"Are you ok, Kurosaki?" Setsuko turned towards the taller girl, not being able to hold back a smirk. "You were actually pretty-" the small girl rushed to grab Aiko's black kimono, and strained to let her down to the ground slowly. "Kurosaki!?"

"Ne, daijoubu, squirt…I just never really…fought like that before, you know?" She managed a smile and wiped away sweat running down her forehead. Traces of blood stained her hands, answering her question as to why her hands throbbed so much.

"You're bleeding!! You need help!"

"Nah…I guess I just grabbed the hilt too hard, huh?" Aiko was all too aware that Setsuko was generally scared for her. Hisana was the same way when she witnessed her big sister accidentally fall down a steep hill while rollerblading. It wasn't too bad, but pads would've helped protect her from scraping her skin. Kai _would've _been worried for her the same way, but he was too busy berating her on what mom and dad said about wearing pads. "Say, I guess that the count's only one – zero, huh?"

Setsuko was taken back by that, but she guessed that it was true. "Hai… one – zero…"

* * *

**Some words from the Typewriter:**

Not even _I _expected things to happen the way they did...I mean, what are the chances that his happens to be chapter **10**!? Still though, those girls are tough!

Thanking all of you who've read, but even _more _for reviewing!

**Fun Facts: **

-_Daijoubou_ means "I'm ok." or "I'm fine"

-Have you noticed all the "ko's" going around? Emi_ko, _Ai_ko,_ and Setsu_ko_...wierd _co_incidence, don't you think?

_(1) _If you've ever watched Phoenix Wrong... (Sweet!)

**...Legalities...**

_Aiko Kurosaki_ created by RadiantBeam

_Setsuko Ishida_ created by Typewriterman


	11. The Boys are back

_(1) _Do you know what's strange about the number 11? If you divide 1 by 1, you get... 1 **

* * *

**

**The boys are back...**

_I've always loved the snow. _

_It's something so soft, and beautiful. I can clearly remember one particular snowfall. Iit was when my dad still worked in a small doctor's office in town and he had the whole family bundled up to play outside. _

_I remember him taking the time to try teaching Kai and Hisana how to make a proper snowball, but all that did was to get smacked in the face with the end product. _

_I laughed **so** hard while all three of us pelted him at once…_

"Oh Nee-chan, that's beautiful…" Putting her pen down atop the journal, the raven haired girl moped at the sight of the newest snowfall. It was weird for it to just start snowing so late in February, but it was here nonetheless. She stared out the window, knowing full well that her mother had to spend another valentine's day alone. She usually received packages, sure, but this year there wasn't anything in the mail.

Through the transparent veil of falling snow, an orangey object brushed through, catching both her real _and _her mind's eye. "Dad?" she whispered out loud, and immediately bound for the front door. Her steps thundered down the stairs, alerting the Kurosaki matriarch of the household.

"Aiko, what did I tell you about running downstairs? You might hurt yourse-" but it was too late, and the teenaged girl tripped over the last step and fell face first to the floor. "Aiko!?" It didn't matter for the teen though, because she simply jumped back to her feet and rushed out the door. "Hey, Aiko! Put on a jacket!!"

_Geez my hands hurt…_ Aiko's breath came out as a cloud in the nippy air, but she was too excited to care. Setsuko-san's mother was surprisingly knowledgeable of the spirit world, and she even had magical healing powers.

_I wish mom had powers too…_

She rubbed her sore hands as she made a sharp left out onto the sidewalk. She heard her mother call out after her, while the curious calls of her siblings imitated her with glee. Instead, the raven haired teen kept her eyes forward, and saw the strawberry haired man bundled in a bulgy jacket approaching her. "Dad!" She smiled even bigger now. "Dad!!"

The man was caught off guard upon hearing that title, but nevertheless started walking brisker than ever. They were close to embracing when a large truck plow screamed by, dumping piles of snow from the street to bury him. Coincidentally, the snow formed a light shell around his body, creating a weirdly shaped snowman. The shell was easily crushed however, when Aiko tackled the man to the ground, giggling and laughing like never before.

Running towards them, Rukia continually called out to her careless daughter while carrying a large jacket, gloves and a scarf. She herself was wearing only the sweater that she received last year, but made sure that the small children wore theirs. Upon reaching the two, Rukia halted in her place, and stared on in disbelief. Her breath turned to a faint smoke in the cold air. Always ones to believe, the rambunctious nine and ten year old children took their chance to tackle the man as well. More screams and giggles filled the air as an impromptu snowball fight took place right on the snow bank.

"Hey no fair…it's three on one!!" He laughed breathlessly. A few minutes after the first snow flew, the strawberry haired man managed to divert the children's attacks on each other, and snuck out of the fray.

"Ichigo…" Rukia sighed. She started to walk towards him, and he to her. A patch of ice caused her to stumble in her steps, but like in all happy stories, the man dove to save her, and she landed on top of him.

"Hey…" His breath was still haggard from the snowball fight.

"…hey…" She said embarrassed.

"Yuck…" Kai groaned out, while Hisana and Aiko giggled happily as their parents shared their own form of embrace with a kiss.

* * *

"Orihime, I'm home!" Walking through the front door, a very cold Uryu Ishida shivered as he closed the door behind him. A blizzard…He should have expected something like this would happen. If Ichigo Kurosaki, one of the most oblivious men that he knew, took the effort to lug around a heavy jacket…something was definitely going to happen. "Orhihime, Setsuko, are you home?" 

A tall woman, wearing her orange-brown hair in a bun walked in towards the foyer. Expecting to hug his dear wife of eleven years, Ishida opened his arms wide and prepared for an excited embrace. What he got though, couldn't be more different. He had failed to notice that the woman wasn't just rushing in her steps, but that there was a subtle stomp to it as well. Of course, the headbutt to his face made her current attitude crystal clear.

"Aah, Orihime!?" He whined. Her hard head was incredibly accurate in striking his forehead. In fact, there was a large red mark showing the growing bump. "What was that for?"

"Oh, you're now all 'what was that for', huh?" Orihime answered in a huff. Showing no signs of pain, she angrily walked away, and Ishida chased after her. Now in the kitchen, the bespectacled man winced from touching his forehead, and quickly kissed his daughter's head who was sitting at the dinner table.

"Orihime, can you _please _tell me what's going on?" Crossing her arms across her chest, the woman weakly attempted to keep up her tough façade.

"Mom's mad at you because she found out you've been teaching me Quincy attacks." Setsuko casually broke the silence. Uryu gasped nervously and shook his arms haphazardly in the air to stop her from talking. When Orihime turned to face him, he quickly slapped his arms to his sides as if he were in the army.

"Uh," Uryu scratched his head nervously, "honey…"

"Don't _honey _me, Ishida-san…" Orihime started. "I thought we agreed that you wouldn't be teaching her anything about the Quincies _or _Shinigamis…"

"Orihime," The blue haired main chuckled fretfully, "I don't know what you're talking…about…" A small cylindrical object was shoved in front of his eyes to see, and he chuckled even more when he recognized it. Of course, he _really _didn't want her to know that. "Oh…what's…that?"

"Mom I already told you..." Ishida desperately swung his arms around again when Orihime turned towards the small maroon girl, "…is the food ready yet?"

"Oh!" She gasped in surprise, and she pranced towards the now steaming stove. Quickly moving over to the pot, an identifiable form of liquid was scooped into a bowl and brought to the table. Setsuko immediately began to eat it, while Orihime turned back towards her husband. "You know what this is Ishida…don't try to bluff your way out."

"It looks like a…baton?" The blue haired man adjusted his glasses by holding the rims.

"No…" Orihime brought the object closer to his eyes for a better look, and pointed out a small decal. "Isn't this a Quincy cross, Ishida-san?"

Giving up, Uryu lowered his head in shame. "Hai…" He felt something soft press against his forehead, as Orihime kissed the bump on his noggin.

"Thank you for admitting it, Uryu!" She said in a perkier voice. Orihime escorted him to sit at the table and he more or less plopped onto the comfy seat. Setsuko, finished with her bowl, offered it to her mom without changing her plain face at all. "Would you like some more?" The small girl nodded, and Orihime happily took the bowl, and came back to the table with two.

As soon as the bowl reached arm's length, Setsuko eagerly grabbed it and started on her second helping. The second bowl was placed in front of Uryu and the young mother giggled happily. "Uh, Orihime, what is this?" He tried to sound as polite as possible; as it was well…Orihime's cooking. "You haven't been cooking all the meals while I was gone, have you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Orihime pouted cutely. "It's uh…well…a whole _bunch_ of stuff I found in the fridge!" That didn't make Ishida any safer with the concoction.

**_...Blurbble..._**

Okay…he could've sworn that something just moved inside it.

"Its leeks, butter, bananas and bean jam jelly…" Setusko said. It only got worse for Uryu's stomach when she suddenly picked the bowl up and slurped it directly. After putting it back down on the table, she licked her lips and smiled slightly. "It's delicious."

* * *

**Some words from the Typewriter**

(' ' ) --Free fanfic of your choice for the first person who knows the full title (hint, it's taken from a song)-- ( ' ')

**Fun Facts: **

_(1) _My own little parody of "The Number 23"...seems like a good movie though...

**-**Anyone else notice all of the "Z" sounds in bleach? _Z_angetsu, Zabimaru, Zaraki, Zennosuke, Senbonzakura...

(Just thought I could distract you from all the "ko"s...)

_Legalities..._

-Aiko, Kai and Hisana Kurosaki all created by RadiantBeam

-Setsuko Ishida created by Typewriterman

-Rukia, Ichigo, Orihime, Uryu and Kon all created by Tite Kubo


	12. Knowing your enemy

You've asked for it (well like, three of you did at least...) and now...you're going to get it!**

* * *

**

**Knowing your enemy**

In a small town somewhere in Japan, a group of four came on a mission. The four split into two pairs, in order to look less conspicuous with the local public. For one pair, made up of a man of average height, and a huge burly monster of a man—who when you think of it, kind of sets back the need for laying low.

"Aniki…where are we now?" the man of nearly seven feet walked behind the shrewder, smaller man. His large beard and jet black hair made him stick out like a sore thumb amongst the smaller, cleaner shaven townsfolk.

"Well Mikio-kohai, what was our mission?" At nearly six feet tall, the brown suited man would have been a sore thumb as well…if it wasn't for the behemoth walking behind him.

"Our mission was to, uh…to kidnap-"

"Not that…the other one." The man sighed loudly. He wiped his hand down his face and through his well trimmed moustache in exasperation.

"Oh, to do reconnaissance, right Aniki?"

"Hai-hai, Mikio-kohai. And what's the best way to do that?"

"To, uh…"

"To go _straight _to the source!" He screamed happily, and pushed open a glass door. Walking in, a small bell alerted the cashier person of new customers, and she turned from arguing with another employee and smiled at the thought of more business.

* * *

"I'm _not _going to do this Rukia…" Ichigo scowled as he always did; only this time, he had a reason. 

"Ichigo, you said last night that you'd do _anything _to make up for working in Tokyo, and for missing Valentine's Day…for everything, really!" The smaller raven haired woman smirked.

"Yeah, but that's because last night we were…"

"… 'were what', Ichigo _dear_?" Knowing full well that he had lost this battle, the strawberry haired man resolved to more scowling. It did nothing to keep the fuzzy headpiece from being shoved over top his and the small plastic nose—attached to a stretchy and elastic string—over his real one. In fact, his scowl only made him even _more _ridiculously cuter, despite his intentions. It took Rukia all of her willpower and then some not to glomp him right then and there.

"Rukia, I've gone to Sereitei and back for you, nearly lost my sanity to protect you when the Arrancar invaded, and sacrificed my dreams and happiness to take a boring job miles away, in order to give our children benefits that I've _never _had…"

"Aww, but I thought you said you loved your job…" She cooed and suavely brushed her small digits through the white fluffy fur.

"I never said that…never had, and never will. And even _if_ I did, it's because I was afraid that the university tapped the phone lines…"

"Hmmm…" Rukia was slowly losing her own inner battle; her battle to resist the gross temptation standing before her at five foot, ten inches tall. "…yeah…"

"Hey…" His hand gently grabbed hers and firmly placed it down onto the counter. Moving one of the overly large ears away from his face, Ichigo made a smirk of his own. "…hands off the bunny…"

Rukia attempted a full out pout assault on Ichigo's eyes, and even when he closed them, he could still see it in his mind's eye. Quite ironically, he was saved by the bell when the front door chimed and two men walked in. They certainly didn't look the type to walk into a flower shop. But then again, Ichigo had once planted a grove of Sakura trees in the backyard for a lumberjack.

Knowing that she would have to save her pouting for another time, Rukia smiled gleefully for the customers and wanted Ichigo to feel the pain of embarrassment in front of complete strangers. "Irasshaimase!"

* * *

"Aniki…" The large man growled hungrily, "I can smell reiat-" 

"Ohaiyo!! Hehe…" The brown suited man clamped his hand over his larger compatriot's mouth… "I'm here for some…uh…" His amber eyes searched around as to _what _they were selling, and easily found the theme. "…plants!"

"Well, you've come to the right place, onii-san." Rukia continued the friendly banter. "Please, is there anything specific you're looking for?"

"Oh uh…that's ok…we'll just look around first…" He waved his hands around nervously and bowed slightly. Smiling his own toothy smile, he turned his head to the large man before they disappeared behind the aisles.

Rukia recognized the glare that he gave to the larger man before they hid in the aisles._ "Do that again, and you die!" _it said.

"Ichigo…" she said seriously. "Don't let those two out of your sight. There's something about them that I don't like."

"Why? I don't sense any reiatsu from them…do you?" The strawberry haired man scratched the itchy headpiece of his costume, and when no one was looking, the area around his round bushy tail.

"Ie…there's just something I don't like about their eyes."

* * *

Walking in the small suburban area of the town, the other half of the group walked down the recently snowed sidewalks, with a flyer in hand. The person holding the flyer eyed the typed words with irritation through her large sunglasses. A cold wind blew from behind them, sending a chill up her spine. 

"Aargh…I _hate _the cold…" she whined. "And I hate snow too…"

"We're here, Suzume-san." The accompanying partner said. Pack mule was a much more accurate term. Forced to carry a large traveling backpack, the man in his late teens showed no signs of fatigue. In fact, the weight didn't seem to affect him at all.

"Again new kid…I want to be called _Sempai_, or something else that's flattering. Kind of like Mikio, but don't make it like you're groveling."

"Sumimasen, Suzume-san." Moving three plastic bags from one hand to the other, he pressed the doorbell of the house advertised in the flyer.

"Coming!!" A woman's voice called out from inside, followed by a series of crashes and thumps of heavy objects.

"May I help you?" The door was opened by a small maroon haired girl, who in her hand carried a small spicy curry flavored juice box. Looking up at the two people, she saw a tall brunette with long wavy hair, and next to her, a young man with bushy brown hair. For a split second, his brown eyes gleamed a yellow shine, causing unrest inside her.

"Heheh, Setsuko, remember what mommy said about answering the door?" A taller woman jumped into view and placed her hands on the smaller girl's shoulders. "Oh, hello there. Can I help you?"

"Hi there." The brunette flashed a bright smile. "We're here wondering about this flyer you placed in an ad a few weeks ago, do you want cash, or a check?" She held up the flyer for the woman to see.

"Oh, well you see, the room has already been taken. That was uh, kind of a formality for the landowner so a friend of mine could live here!" She cheerily blurted out.

"Uh…" The brunette didn't know what to say, so she began to look for something in the fine print.

_Crap…Kazuhiro-san's going to** kill** me if I don't get this room…_

"So you're Orihime Ishida-san, I presume? The one who placed the advertisement in the first place?" the young man spoke out.

"Uh, yeah, that's me!"

"Mom, isn't it rude to make them stand out in the cold?" Setsuko lightly tugged on her pant leg.

_Geez…finally! _

Inside, the three adults sat in the dining room while the little girl watched television in the room over. The young man had placed the entire luggage at the door, and both had hung their coats on the rack. Pieces of a wooden table were moved to the side, and the porcelain vase—or what was left of it was put in a plastic kitchen garbage bag.

"Ishida-san, does your friend pay a rent in order to stay here?" The young man asked. His face was stoic while the brunette woman continued searching for a loophole in the ad.

"Um…Tatsuki-chan really wants to, but I know that she doesn't have enough for the price the landowner set. So I guess not."

"If that's the case, Ishida-san, technically your room is still for sale and any contract you have with your…friend, is null and void. Not to mention illegal."

"Wow kid…that's the most I've ever heard you speak…" Both women stared at him in awe, Suzume more than Orihime. The orange haired woman was more worried about what Ishida would think about her taking out an advertisement in a paper. _That _he didn't know about for Tatsuki to stay with her daughter Emiko.

"I was taught law in…high school." He lied straight faced.

"Well, if you really need the housing, I'd be more than happy to give you our basement…it's just that, I'd have to charge you rent…I hope you don't mind."

"Oh, not at all Ishida-san." The brunette laughed and looked at the young man, who wasn't laughing at all.

"Please, call me Orihime…" the red head asked modestly.

"Well then, Orihime-san, you can call me Suzume Hitotsu." After writing out a check taken from his pocket, the young man handed the rectangular piece of legal tender to the woman.

Orihime tried to read the name, but it was too squiggly for her to make out. "Uh, I'm sorry, I can't read this…what was your name?" she asked embarrassed. Smiling for the first time, the young man casually looked at the young girl in the other room watching television.

"My name…is Chin."

* * *

**Words from the Typewriter**

Ah yes...sweet, sweet legal tender...

**Fun Facts:** Ending with someone's introduction means drama...don't you think so?

_...Legalities..._

Setsuko, and the four mysterious people created by Typewriterman. (By the way, Aiko was a little busy with her friend Emiko...you'll get to see them next chapter...)

Rukia, Ichigo and Orihime belong to Tite Kubo


	13. Snow Fight

Psst...don't eat the yellow snow...**

* * *

**

**Snow fight**

_It's been a while since Emiko and I hung out…_

Staring up at the gray overcast sky, a brunette haired girl tried vainly to find certain shapes and animals from their formation. It was quite comfortable to lie on the snowy ground, especially if you're wrapped warmly in a thick jacket.

"Emi-chan, check this out!"

"Oh, what is it Aiko-ch-" The brunette haired girl squealed as she saw her friend armed with a snowball. "No you don't!" She laughed, and she hid behind a snowman. The sudden whaps of snow hitting snow caused more laughter from her, as she returned fire to her raven haired friend.

"Geez Emi-chan! You suck at aiming!" Quite unexpectedly, a snowball managed to hit her straight in the face. "Plah…" She sputtered out.

"Hahaha!" Emiko laughed. She left the safety of the snowman and sat on the bank with her friend. "I hear that you and Set-chan have been getting along well, ne?"

"Yeah, I guess. Usually comes in handy when you're fighting for your life." She said casually and sniffed her now runny nose.

"Hmmm. It's because you two have a lot more in common."

"Nani, Emi-chan? What are you talking about?" She finally managed to wipe off the last of the melting snow off of her face, as well as pick out small clumps of snow out of her jacket.

"You two are like super heroines, saving us with your powers…" Emiko smiled glumly and played with the snow with her mitten covered hand.

"Emi-chan, I have no idea where this came from, but you shouldn't think like that! Sure, that squirt has powers too, but you're the one who I confided in when _I _first tried out that weird badge! Besides, you can see spirits too, can't you?"

"I guess…" Cutting into the sad silence, a ringing sound rang out from Aiko's jacket.

"Geez…" She grumbled, and pulled on her jacket sleeve so her arm could reach inside.

"Is that your 'Soul Phone', Aiko-chan?" the brunette teen cracked a smile.

"_Never _call it that again." Aiko couldn't help but smirk at the corny comment. As long as it changed the topic at hand. Flipping the phone open, the raven haired teen cursed under her breath. "Look out!!" She pushed Emiko and herself out of the way, as the snow bank they had just been sitting on exploded into white powder. "_Lousy…_Hollows! Can't you pop up anywhere else!?"

Reaching into her pocket, Aiko grasped onto a small bronzed shield and slammed it against her chest. She emerged dressed in her black kimono, as her mortal shell plopped in the snow. "And your timing sucks too!" Immediately unsheathing her Zanpakuto, she scowled at the looming figure hidden in the powdery mist. "Emiko, I need your help!"

"Hai!!" The teen jumped onto her feet and rushed to pick up her unconscious friend's body. "Be careful, Aiko-chan!"

"Don't worry…I intend to." Pushing off with her wooden sandaled feet, the teenaged Shinigami charged head on towards the Hollow.

_She thinks **I'm **corny? _Emiko thought as she dragged her friend's body out of harms way.

_I thought **she **was corny? _Aiko tried to keep herself calm during her charge. The Hollow's scream took her off guard, and so did a massive claw swinging out of the now settling powder.

_Ok…time to get my head in the game…_She instantly raised her sword to block an overhead strike, and swung left to counter a side swipe. The Hollow screamed again, only this time, out of pain. The blade had imbedded itself into the beast's palm, of which she took out, and instantly stabbed into the Hollow's chest.

A third spine chilling scream sang out, but Aiko kept driving through. _Remember how** he** did it…cut him…_

"In half!!!"

Completely running her sword through, especially through the Hollow's beaked mask, it screamed for a final time, and disintegrated into nothingness. Falling back to the snowy ground, Aiko thumped as a small cloud of snowy powder flew through the air.

She had given it her all, and she found that it was surprisingly easier than she thought. For a while, she just laid back and watched as fresh snow began to fall from the overcast sky.

_Is this what it's like? To kill Hollows? _

"_Hey… ugly. You're really weak."_

…_Dad made it look so easy that time…when he finally came back to save me and mom…_

_Huffing, snarling, the Hollow swung around to face Ichigo.._

_Two slashes…that's all that it took him…Setsuko-chan can kill them with one hit, because her dad helped her…maybe I should talk to dad too…_

A familiar face popped into her view, as Emiko lay down next to her on the snowy ground. "What'chu looking at, Aiko-chan?"

"I think that one's a rabbit." The raven haired girl pointed one particular cloud.

"Yeah, I think that is…"

* * *

"Humph…well _that _wasn't fun at all." A brown suited man huffed at the short battle. His amber eyes ached with boredom, and he wished that the fight could've been just a _wee_ bit longer. 

"Well if Aniki sent a stronger Hollow, she would've been dead!" Confused, the larger man crouched behind his superior, while holding a large potted plant in his hands.

"The point wasn't to kill her…"

"…you were testing her?"

"Ie, Mikio-kohai…let me finish." The brown suited man sighed and pinched the top of his nose bridge slightly.

"Gomen, Aniki…" Looking back to the open snowy field from their crouched position, the two watched as the girls just lay around and pointed at the sky.

"It's easier for Sereitei to track someone if their reiatsu is flashing around like hers was just moments ago. Especially if it's a _Shinigami's _reiatsu."

"Oh…" The bearded man nodded his head in understanding. "What does that mean, Aniki?" Sighing again, the brown suited man took out his cell phone from his suit jacket, and began to press a sequence of numbers.

"It means that now, we can sit back, and watch the fireworks…"

* * *

**Some words from the Typewriter**

Those room fourty six guys have really...wait, I just remembered...Aizen killed them all...awk-_ward_!

Just try to guess what's going to happen next...come on...I **dare **you...

**Fun Facts: **A little reference material from "What goes down must come up". She has a _really _good memory, ne?

_...Legalities..._

-Aiko created by_ RadiantBeam_

-Emiko, Kazuhiro and Mikio created by _Typewriterman_

-the term 'Soul Phone' belongs to everybody...have fun with it!


	14. Soul side of things

**Edit notice: **Special thanks to _Viashino wizard_ for pointing out my gross grammatical mistake. Seriously, Ishida sounds like a better first name, ne?

**

* * *

**

**Soul side of things**

"Ukitaka-taicho! We have a complication!"

"Hey, shut up, _I'm _the one who's going to tell Ukitaka-taicho!" Dressed in black kimonos, the two ran down the wooden floorings in their socks. Not only did each of them have to worry about slipping when turning corners, but they had to keep their balance as the other shoved them while running.

Topped in a pointy haircut, the taller man strained as a hand pushed against his face. His white forehead rope was unfortunately more of an aesthetic use, rather than any form of protection. For the smaller girl, she fought against the pressure of the man's hand pressing down on her blonde haired head. Both were so involved in their struggle, that they did not notice the Shinigami approaching in the opposite direction.

"Aiya!!" he screamed, causing both to instinctively push to the side. Having avoided a near collision, the two crashed through a paper door and rolled straight into a seiza position.

"What's the meaning of this, you two?" A tired voice asked. Looking around, the sharply dressed co-third seats of the thirteenth division turned to each other angrily.

"Nice going Kiyone-baka!" the pointy haired man shoved the girl next to him. "With all due respect, we meant no…disrespect." He said to the hidden voice.

"Except for Sentaro-baka…he meant to disrespect…" the girl gingerly placed her hand against her chest as she said it.

"What!?"

"Please…I was having _such _a nice sleep…" A white haired man groggily sat up in his futon. His white haori was draped over his black kimono and hakama as a makeshift blanket, making him look like a butterfly emerging from his white futon.

"Oh Taicho! You look like a butterfly emerging from his white-"

"Stop sucking up, Kiyone…" the bigger man smacked his fellow co-third seat officer.

"What's the problem?" The white haired man rubbed his eyes. He was just too jaded of their antics to care.

"Well Taicho, there have been a number of instances concerning human deaths in the real world!" Both of them said eerily in synch. They looked at each other strangely, and slowly opened their mouths while watching each other. "People are dying, but no souls correlated with these deaths matches with those entering the Rukon district…"

They paused again, intent on making the other say something different. "Also, there have been a number of Hollow attacks in the close vicinity of Karakura town, where these deaths have been reported…Stop…Hey…pickle!! Stop copying me baka-mono!!"

The two pushed foreheads against each other and growled angrily. Ukitake meanwhile, just flopped back down onto his futon. He rubbed his pale skinned temples amongst the loud yelling.

* * *

A large hallway stood, proud and seen only by the most powerful of Sereitei. The Gotei 13, despite haven lost several of their own, continued on in accomplishing their three mission objectives; to perform soul burials and bring souls to find peace in Sereitei, slay those spirits that had fallen into Hollow-dom, and keep balance between the spiritual and real worlds. 

Lined up in two rows, the captains had been called for an important meeting, save for Ukitake, who would be briefed later by his second in commands. In the middle, facing the rest of the captains, an older man dressed in an overly large haori stood facing the rest. Merely holding a large stick rather than lean on it as support, his presence was awe inspiring and his power was legendary.

"I do not want to waste any time," the white bearded man started, "so please, Kurotsuchi-taicho, begin with what you've found." Stepping out from the line, a black faced and demonic looking character walked to the opposite end of the line, and faced inwards towards the Sotaicho. By merely hovering his hand in front of him, an orb of light flew into view and began to fly about for everyone to see.

"These are the crime scenes in question, throughout Karakura. It has been reported that five individuals fainted in public, four of them taken to a hospital. Upon inspection, there was no pulse, thus they were dead."

"Hmmm so we're dealing with a serial killer then?" Draped in his own style, the pink wearing Shunsui interrupted. He raised his hat just slightly as he directed his question to the Shinigami Research Institute president.

"When it comes to the destruction of souls, _that _would be our jurisdiction, Kyoraku-taicho…" the man subtly growled. "These four humans have since disappeared from the hospital. Their whereabouts are still unknown. I scanned as where and what I could, and found the presence of reiatsus similar to that of Shinigami."

"Do we _have _any Shinigami there?" A tattooed man bearing the ninth division lotus asked.

"I could easily have said Kurosaki, but he's left the area..." Kurotsuchi answered. "…otherwise, no."

"So if you were able to find those reiatsus, where are they now?" the first division captain-general questioned.

"They've…disappeared from available scanning…" the yellow eared captain admitted. "I had the institute increase the range of scanning up to a hundred mile radius, and found some intriguing signatures." Garnering the interest of some of the captains, he continued. "Five miles outside of Karakura, three Shinigami-like reiatsus have been found. One Ichigo Kurosaki, one unknown…" He looked towards Byakuya Kuchiki with a mad smirk.

A large eye patched behemoth of a man smiled equally as mad when he heard Ichigo's name. "And one-"

* * *

"Rukia-san?" Ukitake exclaimed. 

"Hai, taicho!" the third seat officers said in tandem. The white haired captain strained to get to his feet, and raised his hand to keep his subordinates away when they tried to help them.

"Did they find anything about Chin-san?"

"Gomenesai, Ukitake-taicho." Sentaro immediately exclaimed. He bowed down while in seiza to show his repentance. "We did not learn anything about Chin-fukutaicho's whereabouts. We didn't because-"

"-we ran as fast as we could to find you when we heard about Rukia Kuchiki-san!" Kiyone interrupted.

"It will only be a matter of time before they decide to investigate…" Ukitake said to no one in general. "We need to tell Kurosaki-san…"

"Oi…" A voice said from the broken paper door. His spiky red hair bounced as he walked towards the three. "What was that about Kurosaki?"

* * *

"One more thing…" Kurotsuchi added. Despite the surprised looks on everyone's face, the Technology Institute President smiled at what he was about to share. "We've traced Chin-fukutaicho's cellular phone. We'll depart for the real world to apprehend him immediately…"

* * *

**Some words from the Typewriter**

Hmmm...

**Fun Facts:**

-Gotei 13 are the higherups of the Shinigami. Try to guess how many there are...

-Taicho means Captain; they're the division leaders and make up the Gotei 13

-Fukutaicho means Vice-Captain...personally, I like lieutenant more...considering that Taicho is captain.

-Sotaicho has been disputed alot, but I like the translation of Captain-General.

-Does Chin's name sound familiar? I think it does...

**_...Legalities..._**

-All of the Gotei 13 created by Tite Kubo

-Actually, everyone in this chapter has been created by Kubo-san


	15. A little walk

An apple a day keeps the doctor away...well, unless your name is Yuzu...and that doctor's name is Isshin...**

* * *

**

**A little walk (Phase 1 completed)**

_It was dark. Save for the beams of light from the other side of the room, where the sole figure was chained down…it was dark. They had taken special precaution to **his** imprisonment. Not just because of the crime he was accused of, nor totally because of his strength. It was because of his rank; to not only safeguard all the other spirits and themselves, but to show that those of higher rank…would pay a higher price._

_Footsteps approached the jail cell; wood clacking against wood. They stopped just before the prison bars, of which were enchanted with demon magic to neutralize any attack on them, either spiritual of physical. In addition, a barrier was placed all around the jail cell, to make any attempts on the bars themselves, futile and vain. Finally, his chains were created for the sole purpose of draining its captive of his reiatsu. _

"_Hao-fukutaicho…" It was a familiar voice who called out his last name and rank, but surely not a familiar tone. It was one filled with grief, and dread to what message he was about to give._

"_Ukitaka-taicho." The prisoner said solemnly whilst atop his small cot. If he had a choice, the brown haired young man would rather sit in seiza…but luck would have it, the jailors worried that there would be just enough slack for him to do something._

"_I guess…you know why I'm here, right?" The chained prisoner said nothing in response, garnering another sad sigh from the white haired Shinigami. "It's been decided…you'll be facing the Sokyoku… It seems that the Captains have decided that you were too dangerous of a liability to let live. I'm sorry." Turning around, the captain of the thirteenth division made his way towards the door._

"_Ukitaka-taicho…" the prisoner spoke out. He cursed himself silently for being afraid. Although no one could see it, his brown eyes quivered at the thought of his fate. "Will it be…thirty days then?"_

_His captain stayed quiet for a few seconds too long for comfort. At last, after an eternity of waiting, holding his breath, Chin received his answer. "Ie, Chin-san…you have fifteen…" _

Waking up in a cold sweat, a haggard looking young man searched around for his cell phone. It was set on vibrate, but it was putridly screaming in his ear as he slept. Finally managing to flip it open, he read the received text.

"Suzume-san…" he said. The brunette woman had been sifting through her ranks of clothes that were spread out on the guest bed. Her large brown sunglasses were sitting on the coffee table nearby, revealing her startling emerald eyes to see.

"What is it kid?" She answered. On the bed, the several bags worth of clothes had been divided and organized into subgroups, such as by color, brand, and type (shirt, pants, jacket or miscellaneous).

"Kazuhiro-san wants us to begin." He stood up and immediately began to dress, not bothering to clean up the blankets and pillow where he slept on the floor.

"So we're taking the kid now?" Suzume patiently and thoughtfully began to choose what clothes to wear; taking her time despite the other's speedy pace.

"Hai. Kazuhiro-san and Mikio-san have already begun their assault. We should have no interference from Ichigo or Rukia Kurosaki. And Orihime and Uryu Ishida are out of town, just as Orihime-san said they would be."

"Alright…just go upstairs then…and make sure you don't peek at me." The woman commanded. The brown haired young man made his way up the stairs, where he heard the television droning on about the falsities of hypnotism. The irony wasn't lost on him

The young maroon haired girl was planted in front of the glowing television, although a safe enough distance while leaning against the couch. The program she was watching had just changed to commercial break, proving not as much of a distraction had the program itself been playing. "Your name's Chin, right?" The girl asked without looking. Feeling no worry, the young man sat down on the couch, just to the right of the young girl.

"Yes. My name's Chin." He answered. "What are you watching?"

"Something about hypnotism. The History Channel's supposed to be showing a whole bunch of shows on supernatural abilities." Sat stayed her eyes focused on the television, which was showing a commercial teasing about that very marathon of shows. "Do you have any special abilities?" The young man stayed silent, consciously perplexed as to why people were angry about a product called 'Head On.'

"I can see spirits. I can also sense spirits too. I doubt your friend knows it, but you have some reiatsu flowing around you. Usually my mom would be able to sense it too, but I guess she couldn't feel it from you. It's really small, but it's there."

"Well, my friend has reiatsu too." The young man casually admitted. "It's just that she can't use it while she's in possession of that body. That way, no one can sense hers." From the corner of his eye, he saw the girl take a seat next to him on the couch, unafraid of what he had just told her.

"So I wasn't imagining things, was I?" the maroon haired girl said solemnly. "Your eyes flashed yellow…is that your special power?"

"To be honest, not entirely... It's just something I came across from an associate of mine." The program had returned, but both of them ignored the enticing music. His brown eyes were now a dark amber hue, and the young girl's own brownish blue began to darken. Like ink spreading in water, her eyes darkened, and then brightened into a similar amber color. Her face was blank now, and Chin took care to gently remove her glasses. The clacking of heels approached from the foyer, and Suzume placed down the last of the luggage with little effort.

"Sumimasen, Setsuko-san." He whispered to the young girl. He brushed her maroon hair out of her face gently. "Let's just hope…that Kazuhiro-san intends to keep his word."

"C'mon kid, it's time to go." Her oversized sunglasses sitting on her nose bridge once again, the brunette commanded impatiently of the messy haired young man. Both could feel the large reiatsu in the distance of where they were crash to the ground. It was up to the other two to keep Sereitei focused away from them, in order for their plan to succeed. "Alright girly, it's time for a little walk." Suzume walked over to the blank faced girl, and took her hand to lead her outside the door.

* * *

"So you're really not joking about that?" 

"Ie, Aiko-chan. Set-chan's room is really decorated all over with lion posters, lion stuffed animals, lion-"

"I get it Emi-chan…the squirt likes lions." The two girls had just left the park, and despite as much as she tried, Aiko kept finding the conversation steering back to the young maroon haired girl.

"_Come on; let's go visit Set-chan!" Emiko cheered happily._

"…_I guess Emi-chan…" The raven haired girl admitted. She had just pushed herself back into her body, and rubbed her sore hands from holding the hilt so tightly. She was greatly relieved that her hands didn't bleed this time._

"Aiko-chan!" the brunette teen screamed.

"What!?" Aiko ran towards her friend, her badge at the ready. She found her standing in front of an open door, although she ran right in. "Emiko-chan!" She ran inside as well, but found the foyer of the house empty.

"Set-chan!? Set-chan!" Aiko heard her friend scream throughout the house. A sole television droned on in the room next door, but the teenaged Shinigami was too confused to do anything.

"_Set-chan_?" she said to herself. Walking around the dimly lit foyer, the clacking of glass brought her attention to her shoes. A broken table and its pieces leaned against the staircase wall, while her foot had brushed against a picture frame. Pictured in it, was an orange haired woman, a blue haired man, and a maroon haired little girl.

"Aiko-chan…" Emiko ran in from the other room. In her hands was a pair of glasses.

"Setsuko-san…" Aiko breathed out. It was then she sensed something…some_one_, so familiar, it sent a chill up her spine. "No…"

"What?" Emiko asked. Running out of the house, the raven haired teen desperately looked around, confused. "Aiko-chan…please…you're scaring me…what happened to Set-chan!?" Turning to face her friend, Aiko's eyes were wide and panicked, as if death itself had touched her shoulder.

"It…it couldn't be…"

* * *

**Some words from the Typewriter**

The action begins next chapter everyone...I couldn't bear to lead you around with these cliffhanger endings anymore...or could I?

**Fun Facts:**

The Soukyoku is a device wielded for those Shinigami found guilty of capital crimes. Of course, Rukia managed to prance away from its awesome power, now didn't she?

Oh how I would've loved to watch her prance away, watching her cute bu-...this thing's still on, isn't it?

_...Legalities..._

-Everyone here except for Aiko have been created by me. She's _RadiantBeam_'s character.

...Ok, Ukitaka doesn't belong to me either...that was _Tite Kubo_'s doing...


	16. Flower shop mayhem

Name this character- _"You evaded my attack...well done, my son..."_**

* * *

**

**Flower shop mayhem (Phase 1 completed)**

"What's going on!?" Slicing through the flesh of another Hollow, Ichigo Kurosaki spun immediately to take on the Hollow behind him.

"Rukia, get Kai and Hisana out of here!!" Rushing over to the nine and ten year olds, the raven haired woman desperately dodged the claws of one masked beast. The same Hollow slashed again, forcing her to dive and roll on the ground.

"Mom?"

"Stay back!!" Rukia screamed out, and she rolled away from a vertical slash.

"_Ruler…the mask of blood and flesh,_

_All things of the universe fly,_

_That which names all!"_

Knowing full well the length of her spell, the woman charged towards the Hollow, making sure to catch its attention with the sound of her footsteps.

"_Truth and Temperance…"_

She was closer to it, so close that she managed to roll between the Hollow's legs from behind, causing it to look down in speculation. She stared back up at the masked monster, fear the farthest thing from her mind.

"_Slight claw at the dream wall which brooks no sin!!" _

Pressing her palms together and outward, the woman bared her teeth towards the beast looming over her children. "Binding Spell thirty three…**_PALE FIRE CRASH!!_**" A beam of red fiery energy shot out of her hand, and exploded the now singed Hollow into a screaming disintegrating mess.

_Ahh…it's been a while since I've used Kido… _She grunted from the burning pain from her own palms, as a light steam rose up from the faint scorch marks.

"Mom!!" They both screamed to her. "You ok!?"

"Yeah…" she lied, "Come on, let's go somewhere safe." She winced as the children grabbed onto her outstretched hands, but ignored the pain to keep them from worrying anymore.

"But what about daddy?" Hisana cried out.

"Don't worry…dad can take care of himself, right mom?"

"Hmmm…right!" Rukia agreed, and hurriedly tugged on the children to keep up with her pace. _Be safe Ichigo…_

* * *

"Who sent you!?" the strawberry haired Shinigami angrily yelled as he destroyed one Hollow after another. "From my experience, you bastards aren't the type to just take group tours of the countryside!" Blocking one Hollow's attack, he viciously pushed his Zanpakuto straight through its wrist. 

Quite unexpectedly, he then threw his sword like a javelin, straight into a far off Hollow. The hundreds of other masked monsters disintegrated, leaving only the sole impaled beast. "Heh…took me longer then I thought it would."

"**What?**" The masked beast breathed haggardly.

"Yeah…" Scowling angrily, Ichigo grabbed the bleeding Hollow by its shoulders and threw him through the formerly clean Flower Shop window. The beast cried in pain when the strawberry haired Shinigami mercilessly and slowly pulled his Zanpakuto out of its chest, only to point it straight down at its face.

"Now…tell me what I want to know…"

* * *

In the middle of a vast snowy field, few would know of the recent battle that it had bore witness to just moments ago. Nor would any of those involved, know of the battle soon to come. A burst of wind blew across this vast tundra that lies just outside of the small and modest town. 

Cloudy, yet bright, the powdery snow revealed two figures appear in the middle of the field. No footsteps had led to their spot, as if they just appeared there by magic. It was noon now. Months of preparation, patience, and recruitment had led all up to this moment. Standing proudly in the middle of a snowy field, was a middle aged man dressed in a brown business suit, and a larger man dressed in dark and equally large trench coat. Despite the obvious difference in size, it was the smaller man who was much more intimidating, as the larger man knew how dangerous it was to displease his leader.

Three figures appeared in the distance, heading towards the pre-agreed rendezvous point. The crunching of the snow beneath their feet brought a wide smile on the smaller man's well aged face. Now closer, a stoic faced young man, a tall statuesque brunette, and a smaller blank faced girl approached them. He couldn't help but laugh at his associate's success, considering that he and the large brute of a man generally had the more dangerous and perilous part.

"Ah, Setsuko-sama…we have _much _to discuss…" Squatting to bring his face down to her height, the man smiled even wider. Suddenly his amber eyes quickly darted down, and his eyebrows furrowed. "Mikio-kohai…"

The larger man growled and looked up to the sky. "Hai, Aniki" In the blink of an eye, the large man had disappeared, and impossibly, no footsteps in the snow led from the spot he previously stood. Looking back into the maroon haired girl's amber eyes, his smile returned to his face. "Let me tell you a little story, Setsuko-sama…about a great battle between the Shinigami, and the noble Quincy…"

* * *

The sounds of glass crunched as the bottoms of Ichigo's wooden sandals clapped against the ground. Despite having just broken his own storefront window, he wasn't too concerned with the charge of insurance fraud at the moment. He had bigger fish to fry. 

"So…are you willing to tell me yet?" Ichigo punched the beast's mask once again, adding yet another crack among all the others.

Laughing madly, the Hollow only grinned even more, if that were even possible. "**Are you seriously a Shinigami? One who acts so despicable…I'd swear you were a Hollow…**" Its comment only gained a kick to the face, throwing him back out onto the snowy and cold streets of the town.

"Don't you dare say that to me…" Ichigo growled. "You target and attack _my _family, unprovoked, and you call me that? What happened to the good old days when you Hollows just attacked everyone in general?"

"Those days are long over…Kurosaki-san." A deep and menacing voice called to him from down the street. Turning his attention away from the beaten Hollow, Ichigo looked onto a being he had thought had all died years ago.

"An…Arrancar?" Its skin was a light blue tint, although pieces of the white Hollow teeth lined like a lower face mask. It was large, probably seven feet tall, and a dark trench coat-like cloth covered it similarly to the Espada. Its reiatsu was terribly strong, surprising Ichigo as to how in the world it managed to approach him undetectably. "…so Aizen _isn't_-"

"Heheh…ie, Kurosaki-san. Don't place me in the same category as those weak excuses of Hollow. Behind him, Ichigo could feel the Hollow tremble with intense fear.

"**Mi….m-Mikio-sama…**" The Hollow's voice stuttered out. "Sumimasen, this Shinigami-"

"Save it you worthless piece of trash." The hulking beast growled angrily. "We never expected you to win against a Captain-class Shinigami…but a pair of children? Kuzohiro-aniki is _most _displeased…Sayonara…" Just by snapping its massive claws, the Hollow behind him disintegrated, leaving Ichigo with no leads, and even more questions.

"So you sent it then?" He pointed his Zanpakuto towards the new enemy, and placed his left arm atop his right.

"Do you take me as _that _much of a threat, Kurosaki-san? Heheh, I'm flattered, but you're not our target this time…"

"This time? Are you…" The beastly man suddenly growled, grasping a large sword that was previously hidden behind it. It looked around the sky, ignoring the confused Shinigami representative.

"Hmmmm, gomenesai, Kurosaki-san. I'd love to stay here and fight you, but Aniki requires my presence…"

"No!!" Ichigo jumped forward as fast as he could, but was somehow no match for the other's speed. What was worse, its huge reiatsu suddenly disappeared, as if it wasn't there at all. Without the block to his senses, Ichigo finally felt a second, slightly lower reiatsu. It was a familiar one… "Renji…" He breathed out, and quickly took off to find his wife and children.

* * *

"…unlike the Shinigami, the Quincies were normal humans. However, because of constant attack from horrid, masked beasts, they focused to develop their energy to protect themselves. They became strong…and did _just _that." Now standing behind the maroon haired girl, the brown suited man looked up at the overcast sky, and sighed. "Of course, the Shinigami, who were used to being able to have things their way, didn't like that. They destroyed the Quincy, and in fact, they are personally responsible for the death of a great man…your father's grandfather…" 

Squatting on the ground behind her, he brushed away some of her hair, so that her ear was visible. "Now that Phase one is completed, let us begin with Phase two: your training…so that you will be strong enough to avenge your great Quincy ancestors, hmmm?" He smirked. He smirked at the fact that, no matter what the little girl's position of the Qunicies and Shinigami, she would have no choice in the matter.

Turning his head slightly to the left, Chin could faintly hear the crunching of snow in the far distance. Immediately pressing his badge into his chest, the amber eyed young man was pushed out of body, and his Shihakusho dressed form vanished into view, leaving his gigai to collapse on the snow covered ground. By the time she heard his body collapse behind her, the brunette haired Suzume stared in awe in front of her. She had considered her reiatsu sensing abilities above anyone else's, considering that she was Kazuhiro's main recruiter.

Dressed in dark Shinigami garb, Chin reappeared just behind the brown suited man, and instantly drew his sword. Rather than strike down as Suzume expected, the young man swung his unsheathed weapon to his right with one hand. The sudden clash of metal rang in her ear, as a second Shihakusho dressed figure stepped out of Shunpo. Her raven hair flew about in the air like a wild lion's mane, and her face was of extreme concentration. _That girl is **pissed**… _The brunette thought to herself.

Both hands grabbing the hilt of her sword, Aiko had managed to surprise everyone but one. Not the brunette woman, nor the brown suited man, not even the small maroon haired girl reacted in to her sudden appearance. But the other Shinigami…she wasn't all too surprised that **he **could deflect her attack. "Five years, and not a single visit. Not even a call or something." She breathed haggardly. Her running took out more energy than she thought it would.

Despite that, she couldn't help but smirk madly.

"Don't you remember your promise to me…Chin?"

* * *

**Some words from the Typewriter**

It's safe to say, that this chapter had some excellent fights, yes? Psh...just wait till next chapter...your socks...shall be blown!

**Fun Facts:**

_Shihakusho_- the name of the Shinigami uniform

_Shunpo_- shadow step/flash step...by moving at incredible speeds, a user of Shunpo can appear to teleport, rather than just running really fast.

"Um...can you use it in a sentance?"

"The _Shinigami _wearing the _Shihakusho_ used a _Shunpo_."

"Heh?"

_**...legalities...**_

-Everyone but five characters created by Typewriterman

-Kai, Hisana, Aiko created by RadiantBeam

-Rukia and Ichigo created by Tite Kubo


	17. Live to fight

Guess who this character is- _"You're a bigger prude than I expected. Have you never seen a naked girl before? Eh?"_**

* * *

**

**Live to fight**

The scrape of metal sent shivers up and down her spine, but she didn't care. She knew that he was a strong and capable swordsman, but she didn't dare budge. By all accounts, just seeing his face again gave her Goosebumps, but she refused to show it.

She knew that when it came to experience, he had the upper hand. But that was her friend standing there in the middle of the snowy field, her eyes blank and amber, having no control over her own actions, emotions…Aiko knew too much of what that was like.

"So you forgot then, huh?" Her arms slowly and surely began to burn. Her muscles were starting to become sore from the continuous strain. If only she did take up Emiko's offer to work out at her mother's dojo…

Setting her mind back on track, the raven haired girl could not take the silent and deadly game of sword-mercy any longer, and pushed her weight away; creating distance between the two sword wielders. Her opponent did this too, and before long, a good distance of twenty feet was created between them. In the middle, the three spectators watched, only two of them mentally able to be in awe. Panting slightly, Aiko took this time to recover, jubilant that she had at least managed to get this close to the group.

"I don't care who you are, or what your goal is…I want you to give me my friend back, and leave us in peace!" She dare commanded the three captors, despite her increasing fatigue. Looking at the two strangers, the brown suited man and the brunette woman, Aiko could not feel any reiatsu at all from them. Still though, they were able to see her… "I guess you guys are deaf, so let me try rewording what I just said. My name's-"

"Aiko Kurosaki-san…first daughter of Ichigo Kurosaki-san, and Rukia Kuchiki-sama. Born out of wedlock, you've lived in this town your whole life, although you have visited the place of your father's upbringing several times. Five times at least." Smirking, the brown suited man stood up from his squatting position and looked casually towards his would-be assassin. "It was not until the age of five that you met your father, and it was around that time that you saw your first Hollow…attacked by it, to be more specific."

"Anyways, you were then involved in a kidnapping, separating yourself from your parents for six months, eight days, thirty two minutes and twenty point eight seconds, until they tracked you to America where they rescued you, and you reverted back to your original age of five and a half—since you were magically transformed into a teenager—and have lived the rest of your days as a 'normal' child until two years ago…did I miss anything, my dear?"

It was strange…to hear her past events told so casually like that. The middle aged man, who had even used his fingers to count off the exact time she and her parents had been separated, somehow knew all of this…her lips quivered, and her eyes twitched at the sickening thought.

"Who…who are you, and how do you know that?"

"Nani? My, my, Aiko-san…you change your mind fairly quickly." The man mockingly chuckled. "I could've sworn that you _didn't _care who I was…'

"Answer me!" She screamed back. Ignoring her tired muscles, she lifted her sword and pointed the tip towards his neckline.

"Hmmm…to answer your second question, my nii-san was responsible for carrying out your kidnapping. Heheh, Hisashi was never fully prepared with his plans, makes me wonder how he became a Captain when he was a Sereitei lapdog…"

"And my first question?" Aiko said calmer now. Instead of screaming out her anger and pent up rage, she decided it was best to store it for now, in order to help her with the upcoming fight.

"My name's Kazuhiro…you don't have to add a –san, or –dono…and simply put, _we_ are…_Ataenushi_…"

_Ataenushi…_ the sound of that name rang in her ear. It expunged all of the thoughts and feelings that she had thought was suppressed from long ago, but her hands lightly shook involuntarily. "You know, Chin-san took a _lot _of rap from helping you when you were kidnapped." The brown suited man walked through the snow, almost hopping through it joyfully towards the Shinigami in question. Leaning his arm on the young man's shoulder, he distractedly inspected his fingernails.

"He had to lie to the Captains about the spike in Hollow appearances in America. I mean, he _had _to say that it was a pair of Aizen-fanatical Shinigami, who were bent in a kamikaze attack on the real world. He wouldn't dare risk your safety by mentioning the child of Rukia Kuchiki-sama…much less utter Ichigo-san's name in the same sentence…"

"My…safety?"

"Hai, Hai…did you know, Aiko-san, that you were an accident?" His words were like venom to her. Even from tens of feet away, it felt like he was spitting on her face…maybe even trying to constrict her soul. "My, my, Aiko-san…it seems that you don't know the whole story of your conception do you? Well, when a man and a woman like each other…"

"Shut up." Aiko grinded her teeth. Having enough of this man's ranting, she took a deep breath, and catapulted herself with her sword jutted outwards. It was no real surprise that she was intercepted, but really by who it was. Chin had materialized in front of her, protecting the venom spitting man without hesitation. "Wh…Chin?" Her brown eyes widened with surprise, but she scowled once her anger resurfaced.

No matter how hard she pushed, the young man refused to budge…or even break a sweat in doing so. She pushed away again, and so did he, returning them back to square one.

"Do you even _know _who your parents _are, _Aiko-san?" the brown suited man was amused at her anger, only causing Aiko to seethe more with it.

"My father is Ichigo Kurosaki…a great man who saves souls and destroys Hollows."

"…And your mother? What do you know about her, other than her name?"

"My mother is a strong woman who loves my father, and would do anything in the world to protect her family!" The man openly laughed at her answer, leaving Aiko stunned.

"Ie…do you know _who _she is? Don't you know anything about the great Kuchiki clan? Or that Sereitei is more than just some place that sends you information on the next Hollow attack? To think…that my nii-san wasted his time to recruit you and Kurosaki-san…when it was Setsuko-sama, and her Quincy heritage that beckons to be tapped!?"

The man grabbed the smaller girl's shoulders, and had her turn around to face Aiko. Her amber eyes bore a deep scathing mark into Aiko's soul.

"Chin-san…please dispose of this wretch-" A hand jutted in front of the man's face, interrupting his command. Wielding a small knife, the brunette woman removed her large sunglasses and scowled at the young girl in front of them.

"Ie, Kazuhiro-san! I want to do it…let me avenge my partner…"

"Suzume-san…I don't give a damn what happened to Ping…you will put that knife away, and you will stand there like a _good _little girl, hmmm? Chin-san…"

"Ping?" Aiko gasped out, but reactively swung to counter against the approaching blade. The other Shinigami closed the gap in a blink of an eye, and was now batting at her without remorse.

"Gomen, Aiko-san." Kazuhiro said in-between sword clashes. The brunette had put away her knife, and was now holding onto Setsuko's small hand. "I tend to babble when I get excited…Chin-san, make it quick for her…call your Zanpakuto's name…"

Stopping momentarily, the young man hovered his hand atop his blade, and it began to glow. "Control the sands of fate…" he said calmly, "Tamotsu…"

Turning his back on the battle taking place, Kazuhiro, Suzume and Setsuko made their way through the snowy field at a casual pace. An intense glow of light exploded behind them, and the sound of soft flesh punctured by metal was music to the brown suited man's ears.

* * *

_**...legalities...**_

Aiko created by _RadiantBeam_

Chin, Suzume and Kazuhiro created by _Typewriterman_


	18. For another day

Guess which character this is- "_Shut up, Pachinko Ball_!"

It's not required that you read _Tide _to understand some of the back story, but it **_does _**raise up the number of hits! **

* * *

**

**For Another Day**

Aiko had been wandering for what seemed to be hours now. She couldn't have been more confused in her life. One moment, she was fighting in a snowy field, the next; she was here, in the middle of some desert plane. Soft grass moved to and fro from a slight wind—a warm wind—that eased her earlier Goosebumps from the cold.

She continued on, grasping the hilt of her Zanpakuto in case of an ambush. Suddenly, a feeling in the back of her mind…someone was behind her. Unsheathing her sword along with the movement of spinning around, Aiko quickly pointed the metal tip behind her, her eyes focused.

Of course, no one was there. Aiko sighed in an attempt to bring her heart rate back to normal, and casually sheathed her blade as she returned to face the other way.

"You've improved a bit, Aiko-chan…" His familiar face caught her off guard, and she yelped in surprise. With a practiced hand, she easily drew her sword and smoothly and immediately swung at the interloper. The young man only moved his head back a bit to avoid the pointed blade, but he wore an astonished look on his face. "…scratch that, _really _improved." He rubbed his neck of the small nick that he received from her attack and laughed.

"What are you laughing about, huh? Where's Setsuko-san!?" Keeping the blade pointed at the man, she nervously circled around him.

"Aiko-chan…you're too nervous these days…what happened to that sarcastic teenager I met a while back?" The brown haired man scratched his cheek slightly and had his eyes follow the girl whenever she was in view.

"Well, what happened to that weird stalker who didn't have _yellow _eyes, huh?"

"Does it look like I have yellow eyes?" Perplexed by his counter question, Aiko stopped in front of the man. Taking a closer look, Chin's eyes were brown…and full of the useless wit that she remembered before.

"I guess…you don't"

"Hai, Hai…come on, lets take a sit…I've been walking around looking for you for a while you know?" The young man adjusted his sheath and immediately plopped onto the grassy desert plane. "What are you waiting for, a formal invitation? It's not like I'm going to bite…hard…"

"Geez…" Aiko groaned, and hesitantly sat down across from the similarly dressed man. She even kept her blade pointed at him the whole time, although he didn't seem to mind. "So…is it true, what that guy said…about, you?"

The young man's smile slightly disappeared, becoming more of a half-smile. He looked down in thought, but smirked over what he decided to say. "Hai…it is…" Aiko couldn't help but frown. He _was _responsible for keeping her safe all that time…in a way.

"Why are you helping the…the Ataenushi take Setsuko-san?"

"Because…I _promised_ I'd help them…" Aiko's eyes widened, and she looked towards the man incredulously. "I was originally just sent to prison for perjury during an official investigation. Add to that, the grand interference of the real world…I had wiped years' worth of memories from the populace in a city wide radius…despite them being false memories implanted by your kidnappers…"

"I heard you tell my mom that it was the spells wearing off everybody…you know, the same one that aged me?" Aiko jumped to her feet and walked over to the still sitting man. Gripping the handle tightly, she couldn't help but to ask.

"Ie…why do you think that _you_ were able to remember everything? The only reason that you didn't remember for a bit was because of plain and simple shock. What you experienced is a lot for a five year old…" Chin chuckled again, and lay back on the ground with his hands supporting his head up.

"When the higher ups caught wind of it, they accused me of conspiracy because they feared I didn't tell them the whole story. And so, months after imprisonment, my own Captain had to deliver me my death sentence…"

"Death sentence?" The raven haired teen sat back down just a foot away from the storyteller, placing her sword next to her on the ground.

"Heh…because they had lost Captains to the enemy in the past, I was given a shortened time of reprieve for my execution. That was when I received a message from Kazuhiro. He had to have been bold, for being able to send me a message _while _I was imprisoned, but still he found a way. I had to admit that I admired him for that in a way…he really had to have been crazy or ingenious to do something like that."

His cheek stung like mad, after Aiko sat back down, she winced at how hard she slapped him. "So they broke you out of prison, and that's why you're working with them?" She couldn't help but pout at the thought of it; she even went to as far as crossing her arms over her chest and looking away from him.

"But seeing how it all led me to coming into contact with your scrawny little butt again…I wouldn't change a damn thing." Seeing that his comment stemmed no reaction—not even a pain inducing one from her, he sighed and sat up. "My body just acted on its own…no matter how much I tried to resist, or even screamed at the top of my lungs…my body went ahead and my mouth never moved…you should know how it feels, right?"

Aiko shuddered at the thought of that. Being a witness to your own actions…even when she wanted to cry, she couldn't. "Yeah…I do…" She answered solemnly. "But…why are telling me all this? How are you even _able _to do this?"

"That's the benefit of my special power…_Tamotsu_ has the ability to warp me and my opponent to their mindscape...kind of like a different dimension that's created from their reiatsu and mind power. And it's here that I have control, because it isn't my or your body that's present here…it's our minds." Grunting as he stood up, Chin looked about at the blue, cloudless sky above them. "But to be totally honest, yours is really big, you know? It's so vast and empty… It was a _miracle_ that I found you in time!"

She scoffed at his sudden change to a cheery tone, but was glad that he hadn't self-narrated…yet. "Ok, seriously, tell me what you're babbling on about for once, please!?" Aiko jumped to her feet and poked the taller man's chest, annoyed. Despite her serious tone, and furrowed scowl, Chin laughed heartily.

"You don't think that we can just stand around and chat here all day, do you?" he started to explain after catching his breath. "For every hour spent here, one second passes in the outside world. And the third hour's going to be up really soon."

"So?" Aiko grunted with skepticism. She picked up her sword and sheathed it, and looked back to the taller Shinigami in irritation.

"_So_? We're still having a fight in the real world, remember? And if we just stand around for more than that, it would look a little weird and Kazuhiro will kind of figure out what's going on, don't you think?"

"_What's_ going on?"

"Me helping you…I know a way for you to help Setsuko-san…but you won't like it." Her hope spiked when she heard this, and Aiko rushed over to Chin in excitement.

"I don't care…I'll do anything to help my friend!" Chin smirked at this, as if he already knew her answer. Silently, he took her hands in his, and pressed them against his chest. He leaned forward and pressed his forehead against hers, feeling no resistance from the smaller Shinigami.

Feeling her forehead press against his was different…her face being all that much closer to his. It was for this reason that she consciously stared down towards the ground. And her hands, being held together by his…it sent her heart racing at the touch.

"Just promise me this, Aiko-chan…don't ever, _ever_ cry for me. There's nothing about me worth avenging, ok?"

Aiko furrowed her brows again in confusion, and looked up and her eyes widened in surprise. A stream of red ran down from his mouth. Although it was a fruitless thought, Aiko hoped it could've been just some wine that he spat out…but that was just crazy, and the color was all too familiar to her.

She was so focused on the red stream that her body refused to acknowledge the sudden cold around her, and the feel of the snow at her feet. What she could feel, however, was the texture of her handle, and her hands wrapped around it tightly. She constantly wanted to let go of her sword, but found she couldn't, because a pair of hands was wrapped around hers. In spite of the intense pain, Chin smirked sheepishly.

He would have collapsed to the ground right then and there, but Aiko helped him down to lie in the snow. He painted it red, like a raspberry snow cone. It would otherwise be such a happy thought, but all she wanted to do right then and there was to cry. She even gasped for air, but she did her best to hold it in. She made a promise…to him and to herself, and she still had to rescue Setsuko-san. She looked towards the three walking away from her, and aimed her blade towards the back of the brown suited man's head.

She sniffled just a bit, but Aiko refused to shed one tear. In the distance, the brown suited man stood in place, and in confusion, so did the brunette haired woman. Kazuhiro turned around in the direction of the teenaged Shinigami, with a dour look on his face. He growled slightly, while Suzume tightly gripped the small maroon haired girl's hand.

Taking in a small breath, the raven haired teen took off running, pointing her blood soaked blade straight for the man's throat. A great rush of wind opposed her, and stopping in her tracks, Aiko looked through the blizzard-like conditions to have a blinding light flash in front of her.

"Ie, Kurosaki…his head is mine…" The maroon haired girl squinted without her glasses, her eyes no longer amber.

"What the!?" Suzume exclaimed. Her hand was tightly squeezing a small lion Beanie Baby.

"So…it seems that Chin-san had the last laugh, hmm?" He watched the two girls opposite of him with an intense scowl, especially towards the glowing arrow aimed at him. "I see…Mikio-kohai!"

Appearing from thin air, the huge man grabbed the small girl's wrist, and threw her like a rag doll towards the sky. "Heheh, you called, Aniki?"

"Setsuko-san!" Aiko jumped as high as she could to grab the small girl's ankle, but the small girl flew too and fast and too high. "No!" the girl began to fall to the ground, and no matter how fast she forced herself to run, Aiko just knew she wouldn't make it to catch her.

"Hinagiku, Baigon, Lily! Santen Kesshun!! I REJECT!!!" After three balls of light surrounded the falling girl, they formed a triangular shaped shield and caught her, lowering her slowly to the ground. She groaned in pain from the excess gs that she felt, but stirred as if she was being woken for school.

"Setsuko, what did mommy tell you about flying without paying for a ticket?"

The large man readied himself to jump after her, but he was too busy dodging a bright blue bolt and landed near his two comrades. Where his daughter last stood, Uryu aimed his arrow. Kazuhiro smirked at his sudden appearance, but still humbly bowed to him. "My apologies, Ishida-sama…I never meant any harm towards Setusuko-sama…"

"Just shut up and die." The bespectacled man growled back. He drew his bow even more, to give his arrow more velocity in its time of flight.

"Why don't we just do a compromise, hmmm, Ishida-sama?" Uryu released his bolt to interrupt him, but the man easily dodged the head shot. "Now, now, Ishida-sama…we will leave right away, if that's what you want." The hulking man, upon hearing this, tore through the air right behind them and opened a dark portal. "But know this. Setsuko-sama _will_ see her true purpose…and become Ataenushi…a Shinigami with Quincy powers like me, can only promise so much, you see…"

Angered, Uryu shot a second bolt at the man, only to disappear into the void when the brown suited man stepped backwards into it. The hulking man walked straight in after him, leaving only the brunette woman.

"Tell that teenaged skank this…that '_I'll_ be back' and '_I'll_ be the one to avenge myPing-kun's death'…" She stomped into the portal as well, and it closed right behind her.

Uryu stood on the snowy ground and panted slightly. His teeth were sore from clenching his jaw so tightly, and he was still flustered over what the man had told him. "_Ataenushi_…" He sighed.

"Setsuko, what are doing with all of these injuries? Here, let mommy heal you…_Shuno…Ayame…Soten Kishun, I REJECT_." Two balls of light flew around, and formed a giant half-oval shield that descended onto the nearly unconscious Setsuko.

"Oh, Orihime-nee-sama, could you help my friend too?"

"Uh, sure!"

* * *

**Some words from the Typewriter**

Yup...they just ran away...those cowards...Why did it take so long for Uryu and Orihime to save the day? Two words...**plot hole. **

**Fun Facts:**

-_Tamotsu_ means: "complete; protect"

-_Shun Shun Rikka_ is Orihime's power, consisting of six fairies: Ayame, Baigon, Hinagiku, Lily, Shuno and Tsubaki. 'Where was Tsubaki' you ask? Pft...He's too cool to make an appearance...

-From last chapter, Rukia's _Pale Fire Crash_ is one of 99 demon arts spells that only powerful Shinigami can use without saying the incantation. Byakuya is an example of this.

-Yes, Ichigo is quite dense about the amazing battle that happened just outside of town...to answer that, I'll just say that the baddies set up some sort of shield...or something...

**_

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_**

The answers for the previous _Guess Which Character _is as follows- Isshin, Yoruichi-chan

* * *

**_...Legalities..._**

-Aiko created by the beautiful/handsome (take your pick) _RadiantBeam_

-The Ataenushi (I like to call them the fearsome foursome) and Setsuko created by beautiful/beautiful (take your pick) _Typewriterman_

-Uryu and Orihime created by the beautiful/handsome (take your pick) _Tite Kubo_


	19. Over and Over

(Final) Guess this character-

_"To those who saw this and _

_Thought it was some,_ _Written-In-A-Murder-Victim's-Blood_ _horror_

_Movie cliche..._

_You have no sense of humor..._

_Big Time..."_**

* * *

**

**Over and Over**

Down the chilly streets of the moderately sized town, a couple walked, although not hand in hand. They had been married for a decade now; ten years of marital bliss. Bliss meaning, the occasional spat, and highly embarrassing situations involving one or both parties yes…but at the end of every day, they were in each others arms, kissing their children goodnight. Of the three children they have raised up to this point, they felt that their eldest daughter, of fifteen years of age, soon to be sixteen, was responsible enough to take care of her siblings.

The reason being, that even _if _there was the remote chance of something happening, they had more than enough trust in the young raven haired teen to take care of it. In the event that something happened though, Ichigo and Rukia would only be a short sprint away. At this point in their walk, the outspoken Kurosaki woman kept up a frantic walking pace, a constant two steps ahead of her strawberry haired husband. Ichigo on the other hand, finally caught up with her from a series of short sprints and firmly yet gently grabbed her feminine wrist.

"Rukia, hold on a second, will you?" Ichigo scowled. Upon his touch, the woman stopped in her tracks, but still faced ahead. Taking from experience, the man walked in front of her and looked at his wife in the eye; her shining and enigmatic violet eyes. "Will you just answer my question? What did you and Renji talk about?"

It was pointless to try to hide it, as she knew that Ichigo could read her like a book. She pursed her lips in thought, and then returned her own form of a scowl to the taller man. "I told you, Renji just came by to say hello. It's nothing…" She daintily removed her husband's grip from her wrist and restarted her walk. "Now come on, Orihime said it was urgent."

"Fine Rukia…if you don't want to say anything…I'll just wait till you feel like telling me, ok?"

She smiled at this, and looked back to her husband to show her smirk. Rather than ruin the moment, she jerked her head to call the man closer to her, and he eagerly jogged until they were walking side by side. They were walking at a slower stroll-like pace now, and a streetlamp flickered weakly in the darkness.

* * *

Sitting at her desk, the eldest teenaged Kurosaki offspring stared into the mirror. Her dark, violet eyes were partially obstructed by her luscious, raven hair. For the most part, she was the exact likeness; a mirror image of her mother, except with slightly longer hair. 

Her eyes were dulled with thought, as her mind raced over the chaotic events that had happened not too long ago…

_Although severely injured, Setsuko-san's mother proved her healing magic prowess once again with her spell. She had more or less brought the unconscious Shinigami male to fitting fitness, only that he had yet to regain consciousness._

"_Aiko-san, don't worry" Orihime chirped. "Uryu's brought your friend to Karakura town…your grandpa should be able to help out!"_

"_What about my dad, and mom? What do I tell them?"_

"_Hmmm, leave Ichigo-kun and Rukia-chan to me, ok? Now go on, get back home…Setsuko's going to be all right thanks to you!"_

_Tenderly grasping her sore side, Aiko nodded in thanks and began her walk home._

"_Kurosaki" a small voice called out from behind. Turning around, the small maroon haired girl shifted about uneasily where she lay on the ground. "…I mean Aiko-chan…Thanks…"_

_Forcing a smile on her face, Aiko nodded in response. "No problem squirt-chan…" _

"Aiko-nee-chan, are you ok?" Her eyes jerked towards the mirror, and she saw the reflection of her younger sister standing just behind her. Aiko swiveled her chair just ninety degrees to her right, so that she faced the even smaller version of their mother. "Are you sad, nee-chan?"

"What? No…" Aiko flopped her arms around to make her lie seem less like one. "What gave you that idea Hisana?"

"Hmmmm…I got an idea to cheer you up, nee-chan!!"

"Hisana, I told you, I'm not s-" Cutting off her explanation, the smaller raven haired girl presented the craziest looking thing Aiko had ever seen. "Is that?"

Held out for all to see, a make up smeared, dress wearing, braided lion plush grimaced in depression. "See? I've been practicing on Kon all day!"

"Be my death angel…nee-chan…" the lion plush wore a pitiful look on its face, and was unable to fuss about successfully in the small girl's vice grip.

"Ok…but I doubt that dress will fit on me." Aiko chuckled at the sight. Taking a second to think, the smaller girl's violet eyes brightened with inspiration.

"How about I braid your hair? I'm good at that!"

"Sure." Squealing with joy, the little sister tugged on the teenager's raven locks. Aiko smiled at her sister's excitement, and turned to face the mirror. Immediately however, her eyes bulged from the tug, and she winced slightly from pain.

"Easy Hisana…not so hard, that's attached."

* * *

**Some words from the Typewriter**

Well, that's it folks. That's the end of 'My Life as a Teenaged Shinigami'. I really, _really _want to thank all of you who've read this, whether you reviewed or not. It's just that I want to thank those who reviewed slightly more...heheh...and especially all of your props and support.

Although, none of you had really made any comments to help me with my writing _per se_, thanks!

I'd really love to just come out immediately with the sequel, but RadiantBeam and I are still neogotiating the cast's contracts. Word on the street is, we might be able to hire Dwayne Johnson for the part of Mikio. It would be _really _awesome to get Sean Connery to play Kazuhiro, but he's been dodging our calls like the plague!

Anyways, RadiantBeam is still in the middle of making "Like Brother and Sister" AND "Over and Over again" in tandem! Plus you know, a few other stories as well. But of course, there's always a whole lot of other stories availible...really nice premises, humor, and all.

**Fun Facts:**

-RadiantBeam's name has been mentioned twenty five times throughout the whole story. (Are you bored enough to check?)

-Tite Kubo spelt backwards looks stupid. (obuK etiT)

-Typewriterman doesn't need to specify his/her gender...it should be pretty obvious

_**...Legalities...**_

-Aiko and Hisana created by _RadiantBeam_

Ichigo, Rukia and Kon created by _Tite Kubo_

Setsuko created by _Typewriterman_

* * *

The final _Guess this character _identities are as follows: Yachiru-from chapter 18-and Urahara (Technically a message from him)

* * *

**-**

**-**

**-**

**The story continues in _RadiantBeam's_ "Over and Over Again"**

**-**

**-**

**-**

* * *

...RadiantBeam...


	20. Omake

**Some words from the Typewriter:** Nineteen is such an odd number to end with. Twenty is just naturally, a better odd number...I mean even...yeah, even.

* * *

Omake part 1

It had been nearly half an hour since the doors were opened to the public, about ten minutes earlier than that for those who paid extra for their seats. In any case, the majority of people have now been finding their seats, according to what their ticket had assigned them to, and chatted amongst themselves from the building excitement. A man comes running from the floor for all the people sitting in the bleachers to see, a head set and clipboard in hand to display his employment with the studio.

"Alright people, the show's going to start in five minutes. Remember, all cell phones off; we don't care if you can put them on silent, or vibrating…we want them off. Second, only applaud or laugh or make any noise…when the prompter tells you to." The man pointed towards the ceiling, indicating a box that currently said quiet.

Understanding their role, the people sitting in the bleachers sat in wait, slightly more hushed than before, but still excited nevertheless. Soon, a cameraman starts a countdown at ten, and the lights begin to dim. At the count of one, the main lights turn on, revealing a very professional looking desk set up in front of a green screen. There is a young man sitting at the desk, dressed sharply in a suit and tie; he couldn't be older than eighteen.

As the music begins to play, the prompter turns to 'Applaud', granting the audience members permission to clap and cheer until it changed to 'Light Applause', and then to 'Quiet' in the span of five seconds.

"Welcome to the Fanfiction News Network, or the FNN. I'm your anchor, Teddy Mayer. And yes…my mother _did _name me that…she should know now, why she's in a Home...**_Anyways_**, here are today's top stories:

_Fanfictions…false, or true?_

_Several new ways to turn 'flames', into a source of heat for those cold winter days,_

_And Spelling errors…is it 'your', or 'you're'?_ But first, we'll go to our field reporter…Robert Porter…Rob?"

As the studio cameraman signaled turning off his camera, the anchor breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately took a sip of his coffee mug. "Geez…do all of our parents hate us or something?" Shaking his head in frustration, he took a glance at the live-feed monitor as he took a second sip.

**Rob:** Thanks, TM! Just recently, a story had reached its completion, closing its weaving and intricate tale, for those less than five people, who were just bored enough to read it…the story is within the Bleach fanbase, which I assume is about a young teenaged boy with oddly colored hair, who learns to destroy his enemies though the power…of rap battles…

I'm just kidding…It's about Hollows and junk…Heheh…

With the completion of this story, "My Life as a Shinigami", many readers feel betrayed, and slightly annoyed. No one else was harder hit, than those who played roles in this story. I've managed to get an insight from these actors themselves, but because of concurring projects from other fanfictions and shows, I was only able to get interviews from the losers…the extras…

_**

* * *

**_

Interview with Chin and Ping

**Rob**: I'd like to thank you both very much for making it here for an interview.

**Chin:** Oh, no problem.

**Ping:** Yeah, we have a little free time, heheh…just a _wee _bit…

**Rob:** Hmmmm…right…anyways, could you explain what roles you played for this story? Your characters I mean…

**Ping:** Well, yeah, it's not like we helped write this story, you know? Haha…

**Chin:** Yeah, we just play two roles, uh, who are actually named Chin and Ping, respectively, and…to be honest, that was just…a weird coincidental fluke for us.

**Ping:** Yeah, I mean…what are the chances?

**Rob**: Hahah, right…anyways, how were your characters influential to this story, as you played them?

**Chin:** Well uh, I actually don't want to spoil too much, but, let's just say that I play as a baddie, who has an ulterior motive when it comes to the…uh…_entirety _of the plot…

**Ping:** I uh…

**Rob:** Actually, Ping…I actually know that you were killed off in the prequel, Tide, so you can just ignore that question.

**Ping: **Well to be honest, I wasn't really "killed off" per se; I was just exploring other venues for my…acting while MLAATS was in production.

**Chin:** Which is code for "I was killed off", hahah…

**Rob: **Nice one. Anyways you guys have actually done, uh, fanfiction work before. What was that like?

**Chin:** Yeah, uh…it's a funny story, because Typewriterman—the director—is actually the same director who made a few Avatar the Last Airbender fanfics…

**Ping:** We're actually the Main Characters in that story.

**Chin:** We're sort of on hiatus right now, which is why we're doing more, supporting roles right now.

**Rob:** I see, so you guys have always been doing fanfictions then?

**Ping:** Well, we actually got our start as reviewers, and the way we reviewed, would be to kind of uh…make up skits

**Chin**: Heheh, we'd make up skits that would seem really non-sequitor, but it took a lot of writing to make good scripts for those.

**Ping:** I remember, we got our first big break, reviewing an anti-Mary Sue fic…we really just did like an improv thing, and it was just…hilarious…

**Chin:** Yeah…

**Rob:** Well, what I'd really like to hear is…what's going to happen in the next sequel? Maybe some tidbits? Maybe even a title for it?

**Chin: **Oh, uh…we really have no info to pass on…if we did, we would definitely give some info!

**Ping:** Yeah, but what we do know, is that a lot of the casting negotiations have been finished, but we're still going over some contracts for other characters that we're not at liberty to discuss…

**Chin:** Yeah…

**Ping:** _But, _some of us might be making a cameo in uh, RadiantBeam's stuff. Like, Ichigo and Rukia are definitely leading roles in one of….actually, they're _really _busy, right?

**Chin:** I was sure that Aiko is actually doing a sequel to her first premier fanfic, called, uh, "Over and Over again"… There's actually been this weird collab'ing thing going on between the two directors—RadiantBeam and Typewriterman. Another story you should look out for, staring Katara and Hitsyuga…

**Ping:** Yeah, it's actually an Avatar fic, but it has a lot of Bleach elements in it too. She's really a very versatile actress, Katara. I think that's Bronx Shogun's fic.

**Chin:** And uh, there's always MitsukaiMizuno, and aznjtgirl…Yoruichi.101, Viashino wizard, TFKeyes, daydreamer97, carmelcat12313, Zin-Zin…

**Rob:** I'm sorry, I'm going to have to stop you there Chin…

**Ping:** Sorry that we couldn't tell you too much about our own fic, hahah…

**Rob:** That's ok, although we only had a short amount of time, I'd really like to thank you guys for taking the time to come down here. Good luck with whatever you do, and we'll definitely be looking out for your sequel, and the other directors and writers that you've mentioned.

**Ping:** Thanks

**Chin:** Definitely

* * *

Back at the studio, the well dressed anchor was busily eating a sandwich, as a cameraman counted down to returning to live feed. 

"Hey, Teddy, we're back on!"

"Hmm? What was that?"

**End Omake part 1**


End file.
